Jurgen Klopp says he would welcome Liverpool being called the ‘asterisk champions’

Jurgen Klopp would welcome Liverpool being called the ‘asterisk champions’ as he claimed it will illustrate the scale of their achievement in a season like no other.

Liverpool resume their campaign after a 106-day break against Everton on Sunday, needing a maximum of six points to win a first league title since 1990. Klopp is relieved about the opportunity as there were moments during lockdown when he feared the season would be declared null and void. 

The resumption — without fans, with extra substitutes and at a time of year that is alien for club football — has led some to insist there will be a mark against Liverpool’s potential triumph, as so much has changed since the first ball was kicked last August.

Jurgen Klopp has said he would welcome Liverpool being called the ‘asterisk champions’

Klopp was left confused when he first saw ‘asterisk’ mentioned alongside his team but now, he says, he would welcome a note to highlight what happened during 2019-20, as the quality of Liverpool’s performances deserve it.

‘Usually I do not pay too much attention to what everyone is saying around us,’ said Klopp. ‘Now I have had a lot of time to read. I had to Google the word “asterisk”. I only knew the word from a comic!

‘This is the most difficult year and season to become champions, 100 per cent. It is an interrupted season, like has never happened before. Whoever will be champions, it will be historic because it is a year that we will never forget.

The Liverpool manager said it has been the most difficult year and season to win the league

Liverpool are two victories away from securing the Premier League title for the first time

‘Give us an asterisk, yes. It is the most difficult season ever and the only difference is there is quite a points gap between us and other teams. If you saw Manchester City play the other night, saw the bench they had where they changed five times and there was still no Leroy Sane on the pitch, you think, “Wow! That is really impressive!” That is our opponent.

‘We cannot do a lot of things that we usually can do but in this specific case at least we can say this is really special. That’s why we enjoy the little asterisk there.’

Liverpool, with 27 wins from 29 matches, had been on course to become the first champions to be crowned in March. In the early weeks of the lockdown, when clubs were trying to find a way forward, the idea of his players not getting a reward caused Klopp anxiety.

Klopp said he feared the season would not be completed because of the coronavirus crisis

‘I became worried when people started talking about null and void,’ said Klopp. ‘That would have been really, really hard. You don’t expect to get the title as a present. We didn’t want to have it on a points-per-game basis, so we were really happy when it was decided that we can play again.’

Carlo Ancelotti, Klopp’s counterpart, is similarly happy to be playing again and believes Everton can still secure a European place. But the Italian knows that the task of stopping their rivals isn’t straightforward.

‘I’m pleased that the game is at Goodison Park,’ said Ancelotti. ‘I am not pleased we have to play without supporters. We need to show a performance with character, sacrifice and personality and we have to do more than 100 per cent to beat this Liverpool team.’

Everton manager Carlo Ancelotti said he his pleased the derby will take place at Goodison