Liverpool are the new English Premier League (EPL) champions following a 5-1 comeback victory over Tottenham at Anfield on Sunday.
Goals from Luiz Diaz, Alexis Mac Allister, Cody Gakpo, Mohamed Salah, and an own goal were enough to make Dominic Solanke’s opener for Spurs a consolation as Arne Slot’s side bullied their way through to three points that confirmed Liverpool as the new EPL champions, replacing out-of-sorts Manchester City.
Solanke headed Tottenham into the lead from James Maddison’s corner kick delivery on 12 minutes, but Liverpool were already booked for a party and delivered with three crushing goals before halftime.
Diaz slid in to poke home Dominik Szoboszlai’s pass into an empty net for the equaliser four minutes later, before Mac Allister put the Reds in the lead with a 20-yard shot into the top corner on 24 minutes. Gakpo made it 3-1 with a shot into the bottom corner from inside the penalty area ten minutes later after Tottenham failed to clear a corner kick, as the carnival moved up the gears in the stands.
Liverpool added more goals in the second half, Salah ending his drought with a well-taken goal for 4-1 before Destiny Udogie turned a cross into his own net to seal the 5-1 victory for the hosts.
Victory hands Liverpool an unassailable 82 points from 34 matches, 15 points ahead of second-placed Arsenal, and confirms the Reds’ 20th EPL title.
The title is Liverpool’s first since the 2019/20 season and their 20th in total, equal with Manchester United.
Arne Slot, who replaced Jurgen Klopp as Liverpool manager, becomes only the club’s third ever coach to win the league in their first season in charge, following in the footsteps of Kenny Dalglish and Joe Fagan, who achieved this in the 1980s.
The 46-year-old is also the fifth coach in the EPL era to win the title in their maiden season, joining an exclusive club that includes Jose Mourinho, Carlo Ancelotti, Manuel Pellegrini, and Antonio Conte.
Slot, a Dutchman, also becomes the first coach from the country to win the EPL, with Virgil van Dijk, his fellow countryman and Liverpool captain, also entering the history books as the first Dutch player to captain an EPL team to the title.