Liverpool’s Premier League game against Tottenham on Sunday will not be the first time the Reds have hosted Spurs needing a point to take the title with four matches to spare.
It is, however, only the second opportunity for the club to become champions at Anfield since they earned the win they required against Tottenham in the 1981/82 season, and the potential celebrations are likely to be heightened after supporters were unable to watch the team in person when they last achieved the feat.
Second-place Arsenal’s faded challenge aside, it is unlikely that Arne Slot’s players will be relying on other results to give the Dutchman silverware in his first season in England – but Chelsea have twice played a direct role in confirming Liverpool as champions during the last 39 years.
From Merseyside to Meadow Lane, 101GreatGoals.com takes a look at where Liverpool were confirmed as champions across their last five titles.
2019/20: Chelsea, City and Covid
The concept of becoming champions because nearest rivals Manchester City had lost at Chelsea in mid-June might have seemed strange enough without Liverpool’s first title in 30 years arriving during a pandemic that prevented fans from attending matches.
Supporters turned the streets of the city red with flares as their team took the title by a landslide, but there was to be no imminent coronation inside Anfield with an audience.
“There’s a sense of relief,” said manager Jurgen Klopp, referencing the curious circumstances. “After the three-month interruption, no-one knew how the season would come back.
The celebrations outside Anfield to celebrate Liverpool’s title win went on long through the night pic.twitter.com/bRS8PlaF4E
— Liverpool FC News (@LivEchoLFC) June 26, 2020
“The Manchester City game was really tense. I didn’t want to be involved. It was intense but it is incredible from my players.
“This is for all of the fans. I hope they celebrate it. It’s all in our hearts and our heads. We do it all together and it’s a joy to do this for the fans.”
1989/90: The last Anfield celebration
Liverpool last won the title at Anfield 34 years and 364 days before they will face Tottenham, although they fell behind early to Queens Park Rangers, who were aiming to become the only team other than Coventry City to win at the ground that season.
Reds all-time record scorer Ian Rush replied before half-time and John Barnes’ second-half penalty, allied with nearest challengers Aston Villa’s draw against Norwich City, ensured Liverpool were champions.
There was a palpable sense of redemption for Liverpool, who famously lost the title in cruelly last-gasp fashion the previous season when Michael Thomas’s goal at Anfield snatched the silverware for Arsenal.
#OnThisDay in 1990: Liverpool beat QPR to become English champions.
Their wait for a next title continues…pic.twitter.com/Wa2vYFDsn0
— The Sportsman (@TheSportsman) April 28, 2020
Few would have suspected they would wait so long for their next triumph, with Manchester United eclipsing their record of 18 titles by two before Klopp’s squad ended the drought.
“If we didn’t win, it was a shock,” midfielder Steve McMahon later recalled to Sky Sports. “We got to that point where we won the league and said ‘OK – see you again in August’.”
1987/88: Liverpool vs Tottenham
Liverpool’s challenge against a visiting Spurs side in 1988 was uncannily similar to the one they will encounter on Sunday, Peter Beardsley obliging with the only goal of the game to see off Tottenham on April 23 1988.
“This is what dreams are made of for someone like me,” said Beardsley, who had joined for a British-record £1.9 million from Newcastle the previous summer.
On this day in 1988, Peter Beardsley scored the goal that clinched the league title as Liverpool beat Tottenham 1-0 at Anfield
The Reds were 15 points ahead of Man Utd with four games left
Something similar on Sunday?
pic.twitter.com/RRmMFtkC01
— The Redmen TV (@TheRedmenTV) April 23, 2025
“I’ve come from the north-east and it would have been nice to have done something like this in Newcastle, but to be at the best team in the country – and possibly in Europe – gives me a great thrill.”
Captain Alan Hansen was not overjoyed with the performance. “We didn’t play well on the day, but we’ve played well all season,” the defender said in his testimonial year. “The league table shows that.”
1985/86: Champions at Chelsea
When third-placed Liverpool lost 2-0 at home to Everton on February 22 1986 as part of a run of one point from three matches, the setback left them eight points behind their city rivals and five short of second-placed Manchester United.
Matters worsened when Chris Waddle gave Tottenham a third-minute lead in Liverpool’s subsequent away game, but Jan Molby hit back with 24 minutes remaining and Rush scored a 90th-minute winner to start a 17-match unbeaten run, including 34 points from their final 36 in the league.
Liverpool player-manager @kennethdalglish scores as they win at Chelsea to clinch the league title in 1986. pic.twitter.com/2Q1nkOvoix
— When Football Was Better (@FootballInT80s) January 17, 2018
“We had a horrific away record at Chelsea,” said Hansen, via LFC History, after player-manager Kenny Dalglish scored the only goal at Stamford Bridge to win Liverpool the title.
“When the fixtures came out at the start of that season, everybody was saying ‘imagine us having to go to Chelsea on the final day and win the championship’ – which, of course, is what happened.”
1983/84: Liverpool win a treble
Should Liverpool draw against Tottenham, it will be the first time they have secured the title with a point since manager Joe Fagan won the league in his first season in charge, when a 0-0 draw at relegated Notts County’s Meadow Lane resulted in some of the away fans invade the pitch at the full-time whistle.
“Very nice of them, too – a very nice gesture on their part,” a smiling Fagan said after County supplied the champagne for the visitors.
An interview with the likeable Liverpool manager Joe Fagan from on this day in 1984, after the Reds had clinched the First Division title with a 0-0 draw at Notts County.#LFC #Notts #OnThisDay pic.twitter.com/BxluNnknmQ
— 1980s TV Football Heaven (@1980sHeaven) May 12, 2020
Manchester United and Southampton had been just as accommodating, drawing their matches to ensure Liverpool did not need to win to become champions, with the trophy presented after a 1-1 draw with Norwich City at Anfield on May 15.
Liverpool had already won the EFL Cup – beating Everton 1-0 in a replay – and went on to win the European Cup, beating Roma on penalties at the Stadio Olimpico.
