The anticlimax of Liverpool’s season shouldn’t detract from their achievement

In recent weeks, Liverpool have seen the end of their unbeaten run, an exit from Europe and now a title coronation disrupted by a coronavirus pandemic, but the loss of momentum doesn’t make what they have done this season any less special.

They were on course to better Arsenal’s ‘Invincibles,’ Manchester United’s Treble-winning side of 1999 and every Liverpool team of the Premier League era all at once.

Indeed, the astonishing success of Jurgen Klopp’s Anfield outfit over the first two thirds of the 2019-20 season was unprecedented. Had they maintained it over the final third, this Liverpool team would have gone down as one of the greatest soccer sides in history.

In recent weeks, though, their momentum has been broken. In the space of just six matches, Liverpool have lost their unbeaten run of 44 games, losing 3-0 away to Watford, their chance of a Treble, losing in the FA Cup fifth round to Chelsea, and their opportunity of a second successive Champions League title, crashing out of the competition against Atletico Madrid having led 2-1 on aggregate in extra time.

What looked like being the most momentous, remarkable season in recent soccer history now seems set for an anticlimax. This sense is accentuated further by the impact the global COVID-19 pandemic is having on the sporting world, with the Premier League postponing matches until early April. It’s still unclear what the course of action will be from that point forward, with a temporary suspension and full voiding of the 2019-20 season mooted as potential options.

Even if Liverpool are permitted to play their remaining fixtures as scheduled, it’s likely that they would have to do so behind closed doors, as has been witnessed across European competition this week. Imagine the scenario if the Anfield club finally get their hands on the Premier League trophy, their first league championship for 30 years, and have no fans in the stands to celebrate with. It would be a dampener on the entire occasion.

And yet Liverpool still deserve to be remembered for their achievements this season. The pursuit of a first Premier League title has come to almost define the Merseyside club in recent times in much the same way Britain’s long wait for a men’s singles Wimbledon champion and the Chicago Cubs’ World Series drought ultimately transcended sport. Their accomplishment might not come with the ticker tape reception and release of that had been envisaged, but it will be an accomplishment nonetheless.

This Liverpool team will be etched into the English soccer consciousness in the same way Arsenal’s ‘Invincibles’ or Man Utd’s 1999 Treble-winning team were. Even if the season is called off completely, they have more wins than the Invincibles managed and if play resumed they could have a shot at Manchester City’s all-time points record. Their front three of Roberto Firmino, Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah will be rung off by fans, even of a neutral persuasion, like Man Utd’s midfield of Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, Roy Keane and David Beckham is to this day.

Having waited so long, a lifetime in the case of some supporters, to finally be English champions it’s unfortunate that current circumstances threaten what should be a glorious title coronation, but this Liverpool have already enjoyed a number of climactic moments over the course of the season.

Take the late turnaround at Aston Villa last November, for example, when the Reds scored two goals in the last seven minutes to snatch a 2-1 win. Or the 5-2 Merseyside derby win over Everton, when the vast gulf between the two rivals was brutally exposed by a rampant second string Liverpool side. Or the 2-1 home win over Leicester in October, when James Milner netted a winner in the fifth minute of stoppage time.

Liverpool’s season had been, up until a few weeks ago, one big climax. That’s what made it so remarkable, so historic. They might not have a Treble, a Double or an unbeaten season to show for it, but the achievement is still evident in the work. Whenever Liverpool finally lift the Premier League trophy for the first time, the moments that got them there will be remembered over all else.