After waiting thirty years for this Premier League title, the Liverpool fans' madness was predictable. The moment the match ended, they all poured onto the pitch, running towards the "heroes" in their eyes. Even the players on the bench who hadn't played were mobbed by the ecstatic fans.
Liverpool flags flew everywhere. The club anthem echoed throughout Anfield. At this moment, Liverpool's Anfield stadium was overwhelmed by something called happiness.
For a full twenty minutes, despite the stadium DJ's countless pleas, the fans refused to leave the pitch.
The people from the Football Association could watch no longer. "If there isn't a suitable environment for the award ceremony within ten minutes, we will decide to postpone this season's Premier League trophy presentation until the first match of next season!"
That simple sentence dragged the frenzied Liverpool fans back to reality. They obediently scampered back to their seats. In less than five minutes, the pitch was restored to its original state.
As for the Liverpool players, they had long since been stripped by the fans, left with only their compression shorts.
"Oh my, this is so embarrassing!" some of the women in the crowd exclaimed, their faces flushed as they snapped photos of the players.
"F*ck!"
Tendou and the others were both amused and annoyed, and they quickly returned to the locker room under the protection of security.
About another ten minutes passed. The Liverpool squad had changed into fresh kits. By now, the Anfield staff had already set up the presentation stage.
Seeing that everything was ready, the stadium DJ began to roar into the microphone.
"Ladies and gentlemen! Let's give the warmest round of applause to welcome our Premier League Chief Executive, Susanna Dinnage!"
Susanna Dinnage had taken over as the Premier League CEO at the beginning of the year, becoming the first female CEO in its history.
"Next, we also have..."
The DJ read out one name after another, all of them core figures in English football. But the final name was enough to take the fervor at Anfield to an even higher level.
"Please welcome the special guest for today's award ceremony, Steven Gerrard!!!"
In an instant, as Gerrard appeared before everyone holding the trophy, the Liverpool legend's name thundered throughout Anfield. Although he had been closely following his old club, as Gerrard stepped onto the Anfield turf again, trophy in hand, his heart was still pounding as if it were his first time playing here—full of anxiety and excitement.
"Hey, long time no see!"
No extra words were needed. Just that one greeting was enough to make the Liverpool fans recall the days when their captain, their soul, wore the Liverpool shirt and led them into battle.
Before the trophy presentation, there was another important segment. The FA would first present the four major individual awards of the year: the PFA Fans' Player of the Year, the official Premier League Player of the Season, the Golden Boot, and the PFA Young Player of the Year.
Among them, Van Dijk became the Player of the Year. Mané became the official Premier League Player of the Season.
And the Golden Boot was awarded to the mid-season arrival, Tendou.
Starting from the 17th round of the Premier League, Tendou played his first match for Liverpool. Up until today's final 38th round, he had played a total of 21 Premier League matches. (In reality, it was slightly less, as Klopp had rested him for a game or two.) But with his hat-trick in this match, Tendou's individual goal tally for the season reached 29, surpassing his teammate Salah's 25 to win the Premier League Golden Boot.
At the same time, he became the youngest-ever winner of the award. It's worth noting that the previous record holder was one of Tendou's predecessors at Liverpool, Michael Owen, who scored 18 goals in the 1997-1998 season to win the Golden Boot. That year, Owen was 18, the same age as Tendou is now. Tendou beat Owen's record by a mere 47 days. Of course, while they were both 18-year-old Golden Boot winners, their goal counts were incomparable.
29 goals in 21 league matches, an average of 1.3 goals per game! This efficiency was simply heaven-defying!
The PFA Young Player of the Year was also awarded to Tendou. His stats were there for all to see: 29 goals and 20 assists. His biggest competitor, Manchester City's Bernardo Silva, had played 51 times for City this season across the Premier League, FA Cup, League Cup, etc. He started 43 times, contributing 13 goals and 6 assists. In terms of stats, he was completely crushed by Tendou. There was simply no one who could compete with Tendou for this award.
Then came the most exciting moment. Susanna Dinnage, who took over as Premier League Chair at the beginning of the year, walked onto the presentation stage. She made a short speech, followed by a few words from the FA Chairman.
Finally.
"Congratulations to Liverpool, the champions of the 2018-2019 Premier League!!!"
Although they read the sentence calmly, the roar from the Liverpool fans in the stadium was still deafening.
Amidst the cheers, the current Liverpool captain, Jordan Henderson, walked up and received the trophy from Susanna Dinnage. Then, the rest of the Liverpool players came onto the stage, surrounding Henderson—or rather, the championship trophy in Henderson's hands.
The quintessential victory anthem, Queen's classic "We Are the Champions," began to play. The entire stadium sang along.
Then, with the song as his soundtrack, Henderson powerfully lifted the trophy high into the air. The Liverpool squad jumped up and down on the stage in a frenzy.
Accompanied by a sky full of falling golden confetti, the 18-19 Premier League season officially came to a close.
Liverpool had won the 27th Premier League title.
Total points: 100!
Meanwhile, the Manchester City players had long finished their match. After showering, they sat on the team bus in complete silence. With their 4-1 victory over Brighton, they had become the strongest runner-up in Premier League history. They were just one point behind Liverpool. Earning 99 points only to finish second was a devastating blow to the Manchester City players.
Guardiola himself had never expected to encounter such a situation.
But he still addressed the players on the bus, telling them to lift their spirits.
"Our journey this year is not over yet."
"Cheer up. Now is not the time to think about where you're going on vacation."
"We still have one more important match to play."
That was right. Manchester City still had one more match to play this season.
The FA Cup Final!
Eliminated from the Champions League by Tottenham, narrowly beaten in the league by Liverpool by a single point. Now, the only thing Manchester City could still compete for this year was the FA Cup.