What John Henry did on pitch after Liverpool title win shows genius behind incredible achievement

The Paul Gorst Liverpool verdict from inside Anfield as Arne Slot leads the Reds to the Premier League title with a 5-1 win over Tottenham Hotspur

Arne Slot embraces Liverpool principle owner John Henry as they celebrate the teams victory and confirmation of winning the Premier League title after the Premier League match between Liverpool FC and Tottenham Hotspur FC at Anfield on April 27,

The first blast of Thomas Bramall’s whistle sounded, Dominik Szoboszlai rolled the ball out of the centre circle and the clock on the Anfield scoreboard ticked to 0:01. It was at this point that the party really got underway.

How they have waited for this day, some of them their entire lives. A generation of supporters – those who were unable to properly mark the club’s title success five years ago – finally, belatedly got the moment that has occupied 35 years’ worth of dreams here.

This was their day. With a month left of the season still to play, these will be their weeks. And with Arne Slot in charge of a youthful and vibrant squad that has a healthy sprinkling of world-class elders still around to guide it, these may very well be their

Captain Virgil van Dijk had implored that Anfield be swept up by a wave of colour for the big day and it was an instruction that was heeded in droves. The Kop looked resplendent in red as an extra special You’ll Never Walk Alone got us underway.

In truth, the game itself was academic; simply a joyous prelude to the main event. But for a Liverpool side still in need of an actual point to confirm their status, there could not have been a more accommodating guest than a Tottenham Hotspur side with a Europa League semi-final to distract the thinking.

The hosts ripped through their visitors to make it 11 goals scored across two league games this term. The history books will say it finished 5-1 but the real story is much grander and far more significant.

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Dominic Solanke threw an early spanner in the works with his close-range header from James Maddison’s corner but the hosts were never going to be denied their famous day. Not this time.

After Dominik Szoboszlai had laid it on a plate for Luis Diaz to level things up, it was Alexis Mac Allister who unleashed another special strike to make it 2-1. Cody Gakpo then scored his 17th goal of the campaign shortly after the half-hour mark with a lovely finish after finding some space inside the area from a half-cleared corner.

Mohamed Salah registered his 33rd goal of the campaign in the second period when he cut inside an apologetic challenge from Destiny Udogie before firing low for 4-1. The Egyptian marked the striker with a selfie in front of the Kop as they sang about winning the league. It encapsulated the festival mood of the entire day.

Salah lurked for Liverpool’s fifth and forced Udogie to put it into his own net from Trent Alexander-Arnold’s ball across. The game was increasingly resembling a pre-season testimonial by that point and the narrative had long since been mapped out.

Liverpool are champions of England once more and there can be no bad-faith claims of asterisk titles this time, or weak arguments of an inferior standard of competition. They have simply been the best side in the country by a considerable distance under Slot. Caveats need not apply.

Celebrate Liverpool’s Premier League title win with perfect souvenir

Relive Liverpool’s incredible 2024/25 title-winning season – the Reds’ 20th league crown and the first lifted in front of fans since 1990.

From Arne Slot’s arrival to unforgettable wins over City, United, and more, follow every step of the journey.

Featuring match reports, player spotlights, behind-the-scenes stories and iconic moments from a campaign

And there must also be immense credit given to those who do not court the limelight inside either the corridors of power at the AXA Training Centre or the Boston boardrooms of Fenway Sports Group. People like Michael Edwards and Richard Hughes; Mike Gordon and Billy Hogan, those, across all departments, who have helped turn Liverpool Football Club into a fully-functioning, modern-day superclub. This, from top to bottom, is how it is supposed to look: the astute thinking of the sharpest minds and a ‘best in class’ ethos that underpins all areas.

A word too for Jurgen Klopp, whose efforts to build a squad with the potential to win the biggest prize in English football should not go without a salute. The former Reds boss made sure he left the club in a healthy position when he took the heavy-hearted decision to finally step away last year and the squad he bequeathed to Slot was so impressive that his successor deemed that virtually nothing needed doing to it.

It was Klopp who led the way at this venue 11 months ago when he urged the supporters to get behind Slot without suspicion or apprehension, briefly, but memorably, becoming cheerleader on the pitch on the final day of last season. How fitting then that Slot repaid the compliment at full time, dusting off the same song in honour of the man he now joins as a Premier League winner.

And yes, due deference also needs to be paid to the inner sanctum of FSG for the foresight to restructure and recruit in the aftermath of Klopp’s bombshell news that was delivered to them in November of 2023. The American owners refused to panic in the aftermath and instead took their time to steadily rebuild a world-class football operations team that now has the club poised to dominate with Slot at the forefront.

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But it is the head coach who must take the lion’s share of the credit. Slot might shuffle uneasily while the plaudits rain down but his understated yet confident approach to the biggest job of his career has emboldened and improved the right players at the perfect time.

From day one, it’s been a masterclass in man-management and coaching. Inside 10 months, the 46-year-old joins the established order of dugout genius at Anfield and the embrace he got from John W Henry and the rest of his Fenway paymasters during the full-time scenes was richly deserved. Iconic status now awaits him.