Five years ago the world went into lockdown after Covid-19 was declared a pandemic, triggering dystopian scenes as normal life came to a halt, including a record-breaking Liverpool season.
On March 11, 2020, Liverpool played their final game in front of a capacity crowd at Anfield and unbeknownst to all, a staggering 528 days would pass before normality resumed.
The visit of Atletico Madrid in the Champions League, let’s not discuss the result, was the last professional game played in front of a full crowd in England before lockdown.
That match should never have gone ahead, Jurgen Klopp had denounced it as a ‘criminal act’ knowing the severity of coronavirus.
Ultimately, it signalled the end of normality as we knew it and instead of talking about Liverpool’s impending league title, social distancing, face masks and vaccines became all-consuming topics.
Lockdown after lockdown came into effect, making public spaces once bursting with life ghost towns.
With in-person interactions no longer possible, the world turned to Zoom – remember that delight? – and social media to stay connected and entertained, with the Liverpool squad doing their fair share to keep spirits high.
From James Milner‘s Instagram antics, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain‘s dancing, performances from Roberto Firmino and countless trick shot attempts, there was always something going on!
And we cannot forget footage from the squad’s yoga sessions. Klopp, his coaches and players would all link up over video calls to ‘train’ together – although there seemed to be more jokes than yoga poses!
In the early months of the pandemic, Liverpool brilliantly paid tribute to the NHS workers who were making incredible sacrifices by marking out a tribute on the Anfield turf.
Liverpool’s manager, and the players, had also sent a message to “say thank you to all the incredible people who work in the health services, all the health workers out there.”
There was constant uncertainty over every facet of life and in the football world, it was whether the season would resume and if Liverpool’s title procession could continue.
Liverpool were on 82 points from 29 games before the 2019/2020 season was postponed due to the pandemic. Klopp’s side needed only six points from nine games to be crowned champions.
There were ridiculous shouts to put a line through the campaign, but on May 20, 2020, the first phase of ‘Project Restart’ came into effect as players returned to Melwood in small groups.
It was a bizarre sight as, at first, no more than five players could train together and social distancing was in effect – meaning no contact training was allowed.
That could not stop smiles on faces following a return to Melwood 68 days after closed. At the time we instantly noticed the unruly hair that was at odds with what we had become used to – as you can see below!
The return to the training ground came with a lot of safety measures, including social distancing, a one-way system, disinfecting of equipment and separate bathroom and shower facilities.
It is still a jarring sight to see training equipment being disinfected in full PPE.
Each player was designated a seat to change their shoes and a place to keep their few possessions, another sight we never thought we would see.
Not long after clubs returned to training it was announced that Premier League action would resume behind closed doors in mid-June – for Liverpool, their return was at Everton on June 21.
One hundred and two days on from that last whistle at Anfield against Atletico Madrid, Liverpool were finally back in action on June 21 and could pick up from where they left off.
Nothing felt the same but at least the Reds’ title campaign could be played out in its entirety.
We did not have to wait long for the crowning moment to arrive. On June 25, after Chelsea beat Man City, Klopp’s men ended a 30-year wait to bring a league title back to Anfield.
The scenes speak for themselves.
Liverpool lifted the trophy on July 22, 2020 before closing out their title-winning season on July 26 at Newcastle.
It was the boost we all needed but thousands of fans returning to the match was still a long, long way off as lockdown stretched into 2021.
An entire season over 253 days was then played predominantly behind closed doors, the most we saw inside stadiums was up to 10,000 in May 2021.
It was bleak. A game full of life suddenly felt soulless having been deprived of the vibrancy we know and love.
We had to wait until the start of the 2021/22 season for Anfield to be at full capacity again, 528 days after the visit of Atletico Madrid – and, of course, Liverpool celebrated with a win over Burnley.
The pandemic did not magically go away, but life started to rediscover its normalcy and vivid colour after far too long experiencing life in black and white.
The start of the pandemic was more than half a decade ago now, but it remains a reminder not to take life’s pleasures for granted and to treasure every moment with loved ones.
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