Liverpool did as much as they could possibly do hunting for their first ever Premier League title and a first championship in 30 years. They took it right down to the final game and for a moment there, it actually looked like it might happen when Brighton took a shock lead against Manchester City, but the defending champions didn't stay behind for long and went on to smash Brighton meaning despite Liverpool reaching an incredible 97 points at the end of the season they still miss out on the much-desired title with City ending the season 1 point ahead.
It's incredibly tough to take, I actually predicted midway through the season Liverpool would end up with 94 points and clinch the title but even surpassing those expectations wasn't enough. But there are plenty of positives for the side who lost just a single game all season and unlike previous seasons where Liverpool have challenged and failed this one doesn't feel like the end, there is no indication of any key players being lured away to Madrid or Barca, it feels like just the beginning and like they will be back even stronger next season.
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp was blessed with captain Jordan Henderson and left-back Andy Robertson overcoming knocks picked up against Barcelona mid-week and was able to include them in his starting lineup against Wolves. Klopp maintained the same back five from Tuesday but made changes elsewhere with Wijnaldum who came off the bench to score twice in that game returning to midfield while up front leading scorer Mo Salah was back in place of Shaqiri after missing out with a head injury. Wolves stuck to the system that has made them tricky opponents for all of the top sides this season, with boyhood Liverpool fan Conor Coady captaining the side from a back 3, a 5 man midfield and the dangerous front pairing of Jiminez and Jota.
Liverpool knew they would be relying on help from Brighton if they were to lift the trophy but that would be for nothing if they failed to win their own game too and so The Reds came out hoping to start where they had previously left off against Barca and searched for an early goal. Wolves were pretty well organised leading to quite a tense opening 10-15 minutes but shortly after that Liverpool eventually forced an opening and grabbed the first goal. Sadio Mane picked the ball up deep inside the half over on the left and switched it to the right side finding Trent Alexander Arnold. He played a one-two with Henderson to get around his marker before sending a ball into the box, it was deflected but still made its way through to Mane who had burst forward after initiating the move and finished it off confidently swiping it past Rui Patrício in goal.
After taking the lead it suddenly became really lively when word began to spread Glenn Murray had scored against City, the Liverpool fans, some who were even wearing Brighton shirts, began to go crazy as they started to believe the title may be coming back to Anfield. Sadly those celebrations were cut short when news City was back on level terms quickly followed. As things stood Liverpool was still on top but the fact Brighton couldn't hold the lead for a little longer was a major downer. The vibe from the stands seemed to transition to the players on the pitch and Wolves began to look the more likely to score, just before the 40th-minute news City had now taken the lead against Brighton came through deflating the mood even further. Action on the pitch wasn't looking too good for Liverpool either and Wolves almost grabbed an equaliser before half-time when the ball was played across the box to Doherty who's shot beat Alisson but rattled off the crossbar and bounced clear.
Both sides exchanged chances throughout an evenly contested second half, Jiminez fired a shot wide for Wolves who also came close to scoring through Jota from close range only to be denied by Alisson in goal for Liverpool. A big chance fell for Origi but was blocked at the last second by Coady and Wijnaldum also had a chance to extend his goalscoring run from the previous game. But nothing was going in for either team up until the final10 minutes of the game. Wolves seemed to have stifled another wave of attack from Liverpool only for their break to be shut down on the halfway line by Matip who passed the ball on to Trent Alexander Arnold. He sent a ball forward into the penalty area where Salah and Mane were both waiting now playing in a front two following Origi being replaced by Milner and the side switching to a 4-4-2 setup. The ball passed over the head of Salah but it dropped nicely for Mane to head into the corner of the net making it 2-0 for Liverpool ensuring while they may not end the season as champions they at least end with a victory.
The goal put Mane on 22 for the season and meant he would share the Golden Boot with teammate Mo Salah and also Arsenal striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang who also scored twice on the final day. The whistle blew to end the game and the clean sheet also meant Alisson who Liverpool broke a transfer record for a goalkeeper when they signed him ended the campaign with 21 clean sheets to earn the Golden Glove award. Manchester City had gone on to smash Brighton 1-4 and were set to become back to back champions but Liverpool still has the chance to end the season on a high when they face Tottenham in the Champions League final on June 1st.