It was, they unanimously agreed, the best of the lot. Anfield has been blessed down the years to see some extraordinary events, nights that still get discussed almost six decades years later, but this one has jumped in to top the charts.
April 27, 2025 will go down as the day Anfield staged the party that had been 35 years in the making. These events don’t always go to plan when you have been waiting so long for them but how this one delivered for those lucky enough to have an invite.
They had come from near and far for the moment. For some, this day was a pilgrimage. Before kick-off, Phil Thompson, that proud European Cup winning captain, was beckoned over by one man while he had a break in his duties for Liverpool’s in-house television channel.
Thompson, such a gregarious soul whose zest for the team he represented 477 times, was happy to oblige but only when he struck up the conversation with the man in the Sir Kenny Dalglish stand did it become apparent how big this was for some.
Patrick Freeland had organised to come over from Florida long ago. At the time, he could not have foresaw that his first trip to Anfield would be the afternoon of a coronation but fate deemed it this way for him and, after landing on Friday, how he thanked his blessing.
It turned out that Thompson had sent him a video message four years ago, when Patrick had been battling cancer for 12 months. He showed him the video and the pair exchanged a hug, before the game kicked-off.
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‘It cost me plenty to be here,’ said Patrick. ‘But four years ago, I was praying to God that he would bring me to Anfield one day but I never thought he would bring me to this occasion.
‘My wife wanted to give me a boost when I had been one-year cancer free, so she arranged the message from Phil.
‘I can’t believe I got the chance to say thank you to him. What a day.’
He wasn’t the only one saying such words. Up in block 109, the shelf of the Kop, the locals were overcome.
This might have been the club’s 20th title but, for many, it felt like it was the first and the way the stadium came ablaze in the final moments was remarkable.
‘This is just unbelievable,’ said Carl Atherton, a lifelong season ticket holder. ‘I have never experienced anything like that in my life.
‘It was all set up for us – perfect weather, at home, against a team we were expected to beat. But to do it like that?
‘I’ve been lucky enough to see a lot of things in my time supporting Liverpool. I have been watching the team for 52 years, I’ve been here when we have won titles before but this experience is like nothing I can remember. This is right up there with anything.’
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It wasn’t said for effect. You knew it was going to be a remarkable afternoon when you could smell sulphur from red flares a mile from the ground and a picture circulated on social media, taken in Crosby four miles away, off plumes of red smoke billowing over the stadium at 630pm.
Old players, such as Vladimir Smicer – who played his part in the Istanbul comeback 20 years ago – and Patrick Berger were besieged as they made their way down staircases as everyone revelled in the event.
There was even a banner proclaiming ‘20’ in the Tottenham end as the stadium emptied.
The day, however, was best summed up by a group of boys who were walking through nearby Newsham Park at 8.30pm, away from the hullabalo.
‘You know what?’ one said. ‘I miss the scenes at the final whistle already.’
