Liverpool supporters celebrating their Premier League title win at Anfield set off a series of tremors during the 5-1 win over Tottenham Hotspur, scientists have revealed.
The Reds clinched their first league title in front of supporters in 35 years – with fans unable to attend their celebrations in 2020 due to Covid restrictions.
Researchers from the University of Liverpool used the same equipment utilised in earthquake-prone regions like Chile to measure seismic activity on Sunday afternoon.
And they found Alexis Mac Allister’s long-range strike in the 24th minute, which put Liverpool ahead for the first time, caused a tremor that peaked at 1.74 on the Richter scale.
The 60,000-capacity crowd at Anfield also produced a tremor of 1.60 when Mohamed Salah scored Liverpool’s fourth goal, with Cody Gapo’s third measuring at 1.03 on the Richter scale.
Scientists explained that, while the ground motions were still too small to have been felt at Anfield or elsewhere in the city, Liverpool’s celebrations at Anfield were still counted as earth-shaking.
“This experiment gave us a unique opportunity to use seismology to capture a scientific record of the magnitude of Liverpool’s historic title-clinching win,” professor Ben Edwards said.
“Much like natural seismic events, these goals produced bursts of ground-shaking, triggered by the sheer passion of Liverpool fans. Their enthusiasm was literally powerful enough to move the Earth..”
