AnalysisTalking points: Songbook, send-off and Quansah history against Wolves
The Jürgen Klopp era at Liverpool finished with a victory, as the Reds beat Wolverhampton Wanderers 2-0 at Anfield on Sunday.
First-half strikes from Alexis Mac Allister and Jarell Quansah were enough on an emotional afternoon, as Klopp’s 491st and final game as manager ended with smiles as well as goodbyes.
Here are five things we noticed on a very special day in L4…
Not a dry eye in the house
This was always going to be a day to remember, and one filled with all kinds of emotions, for everyone associated with the Reds.
Klopp’s final farewell began well before kick-off, with supporters lining Anfield Road to welcome the Liverpool team bus. Inside the stadium, the first rendition of I’m So Glad… started as the players warmed up, some 35 minutes before 4pm.
On the Kop, a banner was unfurled. ‘Doubters, believers, conquerors,’ it read, while as the teams gathered in the tunnel, fans were instructed to hold up cards creating a mosaic around the ground: ‘Danke Jürgen, YNWA’.
There were smiles on the touchline, Klopp waving to his adoring public as he took his place in the home dugout for the last time.
Then came the football, and a solid win with which to end the season for the Reds.
And then came the finale, and the tears. The last goodbye, for not only Klopp, but coaching staff members Pepijn Lijnders, Peter Krawietz, John Achterberg, Vitor Matos, Andreas Kornmayer, Jack Robinson and Ray Haughan, as well as players Joel Matip and Thiago Alcantara.
Sir Kenny Dalglish was there to make the necessary presentations, just as he had been when Klopp’s Liverpool received the Premier League trophy in 2020. How fitting. One Anfield great shoulder to shoulder with another. A beautiful speech on the pitch, followed by those final fist pumps in front of the Kop.
Anfield, 2024. Love in the air and not a dry eye in the house.
Mac Allister ends debut season in style
Mac Allister ensured his debut season with the Reds ended in style as he grabbed his side’s opening goal, 11 minutes before half-time.
Harvey Elliott’s delivery, whipped in from the right, was just crying out for a finish, and the Argentinian applied it, glancing his header beyond Jose Sa and into the corner.
It was Mac Allister’s seventh goal of the campaign, six of which have come since the turn of the year.
In a season of positives, the arrival of the new No.10 has been one of the biggest.
Elliott the assist king strikes again
In creating Liverpool’s opener versus Wolves, Elliott took his assist tally for the season to 11 in all competitions.
Ten of those have come since January 1, meaning Elliott becomes only the second player aged 21 or under to provide 10+ assists for the club in a single calendar year in the Premier League era, after Trent Alexander-Arnold in 2019.
Elliott was excellent here, finishing with the second-most touches despite being substituted with nine minutes remaining.
His development this season has been clear, and at 21 the best is surely still to come.
Quansah’s piece of Premier League history
Having scored his first Premier League goal of the season at Aston Villa on Monday, Quansah followed up swiftly with his second here, following up to force the ball home after Mohamed Salah’s shot had been blocked.
In doing so, the 21-year-old made a bit of Premier League history.
His goal was the 1,223rd of this season, a new all-time competition record, overtaking the 1,222 scored in the inaugural 1992-93 campaign, which was a 22-team season.
Like Elliott, and like plenty of others besides, Quansah’s progress this term has been huge, the centre-back finishing with 33 appearances in all competitions, in what was his maiden senior campaign with Liverpool.
The Kop songbook gets an airing
This was a day in which Klopp was always going to be the main focus, but plenty of Anfield’s other former stars were recognised too, as the Kop dusted off its classic songbook.
In the first half, the likes of Sadio Mane, Roberto Firmino, Georginio Wijnaldum, Jordan Henderson and Divock Origi were serenaded, while after the break we heard the names of John Arne Riise, Luis Garcia, Steven Gerrard and Xabi Alonso ring out.
Current players, too, were toasted. Salah and Virgil van Dijk, Alexander-Arnold and Diogo Jota and Luis Diaz.
The loudest song, though, was Klopp’s, with the final five minutes plus stoppage time played out to the sound of The Beatles.
How fitting. The Fab Four used to pay tribute to The Normal One, a man whose achievements and impact at Anfield have been anything but.
This article has been automatically translated and, while all reasonable efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, some errors in translation are possible. Please refer to the original English-language version of the article for the official version.