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Liverpool duo Andy Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold with the Premier League trophy(Image: PAUL ELLIS/AFP via Getty Images))

Finally we make it down to the end of the yellow brick road with the latest season now done and dusted.

And there waiting for Liverpool was the shimmering Premier League trophy for captain Virgil van Dijk to raise aloft in front of the jubilant Reds supporters.

Mohamed Salah scored his 34th goal of the campaign with just five minutes remaining to earn Arne Slot's champions a 1- 1 draw at home to Crystal Palace in their final game.

It made for a satisfying finale at the Anfield.

"But perhaps not like this, not with acrimony having given way to adulation at Anfield.

"There had been an understandable sense of trepidation as he readied himself at half-time for the appearance with which he would bid goodbye to Liverpool.

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"Where there had been a crescendo of catcalls during the game against Arsenal two weeks ago - his every touch booed by supporters unhappy at his impending move to Real Madrid - he was now cheered in uplifting fashion.

"By the end of a raucous occasion, he was patting his heart in front of The Kop before collapsing into the arms of his mum and dad, Dianne and Michael, overcome with emotion, after they had made their way on to the pitch with the celebrations for the Premier League champions in full swing.

"In many respects, this was the day Liverpool had longed for, but also needed.

A restoration of the club’s values, which had been undermined when some supporters had vocally turned on one of their own, and the fans deserve the utmost credit for recognising this was about unity and togetherness."

Former ECHO man Chris Bascombe, now at The Telegraph, also picked up on the theme about the departing Liverpool right-back.

"It was like an old friend returning to the embrace of loving arms; all the exasperation and rancour evaporating as the trickles of red ticker tape mirrored the tears dripping down so many cheeks," he writes.

"The Premier League trophy served as a unifier and pacifier as Trent Alexander-Arnold was welcomed back into the Anfield fold with such emotional impact, it would not have been such a surprise had he grabbed the microphone and announced Real Madrid could shove their contract and he was staying after all.

"The rapturous ovation for the number 66 as he took his place on the winners’ podium proved to be the defining, dramatic and poignant image of the trophy presentation Anfield has been waiting 35 years to savour.

"The jeering of Alexander-Arnold had created an Anfield spectacle for all the wrong reasons two weeks ago, like some macabre circus act which everyone found entertaining except those with the club’s and player’s interests at heart.

"This time his reception was an exhibition of class, and in its way the ideal symbol for a flawless day for a club which has endured so much to get back on its pedestal; yes, there have been fall-outs and heartbreaks along the way - even in the last five years.

"There was the impromptu guard of honour that Liverpool gave Crystal ­Palace in recognition of their historic FA Cup win and the tumultuous reception that meant everything to Trent ­Alexander-Arnold as he stepped on to the podium to collect one final medal with his boyhood club.

"Most ­poignantly and appropriately, there was the sight of Alan Hansen passing the Premier League trophy to Virgil van Dijk.

The Scot had been the last Liverpool captain to receive a league championship trophy in front of the club’s fans, 35 years and 24 days earlier.
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