Regardless of what happens on Sunday – or indeed next Saturday when they face Real Madrid in the Champions League final – the 2021-22 season will live long in the memory of Liverpool fans.
Jurgen Klopp’s men have taken their quadruple hunt as far as it is possible to go and, while they still may ‘only’ end up with the EFL Cup and FA Cup in their cabinet, they have at least made a clean sweep of trophies look more possible than any English club has ever done.
Of course, that dream is still alive courtesy of a come-from-behind 2-1 win at Southampton on Tuesday night, with Liverpool showcasing their strength in depth by making nine changes and still coming out on top only three days after a gruelling 120 minutes and penalty shootout against Chelsea in the FA Cup final.
The expectancy for Liverpool on Sunday will be one of disappointment, with the title very much in Man City’s hands; victory for Pep Guardiola’s men against Aston Villa will clinch them their fourth Premier League crown in five years, regardless of what Liverpool do.
Strange things can happen on the final day, though, and there is a certain degree of fatefulness about the prospect of Gerrard – arguably Liverpool’s
greatest ever player and certainly the best to have never won the title – finally securing the trophy for his boyhood club by providing some final-day drama to rival 1989 and 2012.
Incidentally, that 1989 campaign – when Arsenal pinched the title off Liverpool with victory at Anfield on the final day – was the last time that Liverpool lost their last game of the season when playing it at home, winning 13 and drawing two of the 15 such instances since.
Home or away, Liverpool have won five and drawn one of their final-day games under Klopp, and in the buildup to this one the German has stressed the importance of focusing solely on Wolves, rather than letting their minds drift to events at the Etihad.
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Should they hold up their end of the bargain and pick up win number 28 of the season then they will finish the campaign on 92 points – their third-highest ever tally and one which would have been enough to win the title in 24 of the previous 29 Premier League seasons.
The formbook suggests that will be the case; Liverpool have won 15 of their last 17 Premier League games and are still unbeaten this calendar year, while they are on the verge of an unbeaten Premier League season at Anfield for a record-equalling fifth time.
Given their situation in the league, and the need for Man City to drop unlikely points, Liverpool could be forgiven for prioritising next Saturday’s Champions League final in Paris – game number 63 of a relentless and exhausting season.
