Football: Elated fans abandon social distancing to greet Liverpool Premier League win after 30-year wait ⁰

Liverpool ended a 30-year wait for the English title as they were crowned Premier League champions on Thursday, triggering jubilant scenes as fans ignored social distancing to celebrate uproariously.

Jurgen Klopp’s men sealed a 19th league title with a record seven games remaining after Chelsea’s 2-1 defeat of second-placed Manchester City left the 2018 and 2019 champions an unbridgeable 23 points adrift.

Liverpool’s first English title since 1990 — further delayed by the coronavirus shutdown — earns them their maiden trophy in the Premier League, which was introduced in 1992 and has been won 13 times by their arch-rivals Manchester United.

Klopp was in tears after Liverpool’s long-awaited win, which follows their Champions League and Club World Cup victories last year, when they finished just a point behind City in the Premier League.

“It’s such a big moment, I am completely overwhelmed,” an emotional Klopp told Sky Sports. “Tonight it is for you out there.

“It’s incredible. I hope you stay at home, or go in front of your house if you want, but not more. We do it together in this moment and it is a joy to do it for you.”

However, thousands of fans, many in face masks, converged on Anfield, lighting flares, chanting and celebrating with a replica trophy, while motorists drove up and beeped their horns.

Congratulations poured in from around the world with basketball star LeBron James, actor Samuel L. Jackson and former world number one tennis player Caroline Wozniacki among those paying tribute.

(AFP)