Liverpool

MANCHESTER — Manchester City generously applauded new champions Liverpool onto the field before their Premier League match on Thursday -- and promptly showed no mercy by thrashing them 4-0 at the Etihad stadium.

With the title secured a week ago, there was little at stake for Juergen Klopp's Liverpool side who showed far from their usual levels of intensity but the loss, just their second of the league campaign, was an emphatic reminder that City will be desperate to regain their crown next season.

Liverpool has condemned the behavior of fans who gathered in Liverpool city center for a second night on Friday to celebrate their team's Premier League title win and urged them to stay at home due to fears of a surge in COVID-19 cases.

Local media reported fans launched fireworks at the Royal Liver Building, with a fire breaking out on the balcony of the landmark owned by Farhad Moshiri, the majority shareholder of the side's local rivals Everton.

German manager Jürgen Klopp and his multinational squad of players have been given most of the credit for Liverpool's Premier League triumph but behind the 19th top flight title has been the astute ownership of a group of American executives.

It did not take great imagination to work out why the owners of the Boston Red Sox saw potential in Liverpool when they purchased the team 10 years ago.

Former Liverpool goalkeeper Pepe Reina said he was proud to have played for the Premier League outfit and joined a number of his fellow Spaniards in congratulating them for their first league title in three decades.

Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjær has congratulated rivals Liverpool on clinching their first league title in 30 years but conceded it always hurts to see someone else lift the trophy.

Jürgen Klopp's Liverpool secured the Premier League crown after second-placed Manchester City lost 2-1 at Chelsea on Thursday, meaning the Merseyside club could not be caught with a 23-point lead over City with seven games remaining.

Christian Pulisic has won the Premier League title — for Liverpool.

The American winger’s 36th-minute golazo combined with a second-half penalty kick by Willian were enough for Chelsea to defeat Manchester City 2-1, handing the 2020 Premier League trophy to Liverpool.