Liverpool end 30-year wait | Wins maiden Premier League Title

Thirty years of hurt came to an end for Liverpool when they were confirmed as Premier League champions

Reds crowned Premier League champions after Manchester City fail to beat Chelsea as Merseyside club finally end their 30-year wait to lift top-flight title.

LONDON: Thirty years of hurt came to an end for Liverpool when they were confirmed as Premier League champions on Thursday courtesy of second-placed Manchester City's 2-1 defeat by Chelsea.

The result at Stamford Bridge means Liverpool have an unassailable 23-point lead over City with seven games left.

Liverpool were last champions of England when they won the old First Division title in 1989-90 after which a decline in fortunes saw Manchester United and Arsenal, then Chelsea and Manchester City seize power.

Inspirational manager Juergen Klopp has rekindled the Anfield flame though and delivered the club's 19th top-flight title, one behind arch-rivals United's record of 20, after finishing runners-up to City in a thrilling race last season.

As the Chelsea game moved into stoppage time at an empty stadium in London, 350km away outside Anfield Liverpool fans began lighting red flares as the celebrations began in earnest.

Despite the COVID-19 pandemic forcing a three-month suspension of the season and delaying Liverpool's coronation, they have won the title with a record seven games to spare.

They eclipsed the record jointly held by Manchester United (2000-01) and Manchester City (2017-18), who sealed their respective titles with five games left.

Liverpool finished last season with nine straight league wins and, after claiming the Champions League by beating Tottenham Hotspur in Madrid, began the new campaign in relentless fashion to leave rivals trailing in their wake.

With 28 wins and just one defeat in 31 games, Liverpool have set a record-breaking pace and were 25 points clear in February -- the biggest lead in Premier League history.

When they beat West Ham United that month it was their 18th successive top-flight win, matching Manchester City's record, before their hopes of an unbeaten season were dashed by a 3-0 defeat at Watford, a result that was merely a blip.

Leading the charge has been Mohamed Salah, the Egyptian forward who is the first Liverpool player to score at least 20 goals in all competitions in three consecutive seasons since Michael Owen at the start of the millennium.

Salah scored twice on Wednesday as Liverpool thrashed Crystal Palace 4-0 at Anfield -- a result that meant City had to beat Chelsea to delay the inevitable for a while longer. Agencies

List of English league champions

(with runner-ups; since 1981-82)

1981-82 - Liverpool - Ipswich Town

1982-83 - Liverpool - Watford

1983-84 - Liverpool - Southampton

1984-85 - Everton - Liverpool

1985-86 - Liverpool - Everton

1986-87 - Everton - Liverpool

1987-88 - Liverpool - Manchester United

1988-89 - Arsenal - Liverpool

1989-90 - Liverpool - Aston Villa

1990-91 - Arsenal - Liverpool

1991-92 - Leeds United - Manchester United

1992-93 - Manchester United - Aston Villa

1993-94 - Manchester United - Blackburn Rovers

1994-95 - Blackburn Rovers - Manchester United

1995-96 - Manchester United - Newcastle United

1996-97 - Manchester United - Newcastle United

1997-98 - Arsenal - Manchester United

1998-99 - Manchester United - Arsenal

1999-00 - Manchester United - Arsenal

2000-01 - Manchester United - Arsenal

2001-02 - Arsenal - Liverpool

2002-03 - Manchester United - Arsenal

2003-04 - Arsenal - Chelsea

2004-05 - Chelsea - Arsenal

2005-06 - Chelsea - Manchester United

2006-07 - Manchester United - Chelsea

2007-08 - Manchester United - Chelsea

2008-09 - Manchester United - Liverpool

2009-10 - Chelsea - Manchester United

2010-11 - Manchester United - Chelsea

2011-12 - Manchester City - Manchester United

2012-13 - Manchester United - Manchester City

2013-14 - Manchester City - Liverpool

2014-15 - Chelsea - Manchester City

2015-16 - Leicester City - Arsenal

2016-17 - Chelsea - Tottenham Hotspur

2017-18 - Manchester City - Manchester United

2018-19 - Manchester City - Liverpool

2019-20 - Liverpool - ____

List of trophies won by Liverpool

*LEAGUE TITLES

First Division/Premier League (19): 1900-01, 1905-06, 1921-22, 1922-23, 1946-47, 1963-64, 1965-66, 1972-73, 1975-76, 1976-77, 1978-79, 1979-80, 1981-82, 1982-83, 1983-84, 1985-86, 1987-88, 1989-90, 2019-20

Second Division (4): 1893-94, 1895-96, 1904-05, 1961-62

*DOMESTIC CUPS

FA Cup (7): 1964-65, 1973-74, 1985-86, 1988-89, 1991-92, 2000-01, 2005-06

League Cup (8): 1980-81, 1981-82, 1982-83, 1983-84, 1994-95, 2000-01, 2002-03, 2011-12

FA Community Shield (15): 1964*, 1965*, 1966, 1974, 1976, 1977*, 1979, 1980, 1982, 1986*, 1988, 1989, 1990*, 2001, 2006 (*shared)

*EUROPEAN HONOURS

European Cup/Champions League (6): 1976-77, 1977-78, 1980-81, 1983-84, 2004-05, 2018-19

UEFA Cup/Europa League (3): 1972-73, 1975-76, 2000-01

Super Cup (4): 1977, 2001, 2005, 2019

*WORLDWIDE

FIFA Club World Cup: 2019

Since the League began in 1888-89,