Liverpool fans turned out in their thousands at Anfield tonight as their side lifted the Premier League title for the first time – but they have ignored police demands to go home and set off smoke bombs and fireworks outside the stadium.
The team beat Chelsea 5-3 behind closed doors at the historic stadium and after the match captain Jordan Henderson held the trophy aloft and started the celebrations in the city as the team were showered in confetti.
Merseyside Police asked supporters to stay at home and celebrate because of fears over the coronavirus being spread in the city, but hours before kick-off, hundreds defied police warnings and converged in the streets around Anfield.
Fans let off red flares, waved flags, blew carbhorns and set off fireworks, with some fans standing on the hoardings during the game. Officers took flares off some fans but did not stop them joining the crowd outside the stadium.
In anticipation of the trophy being lifted police had introduced a 48-hour dispersal zone around the ground in anticipation of crowds gathering as the trophy was lifted in the empty stadium.
Large parts of the stadium was fenced off but by 9.45pm a large group had gathered in the road outside the Kop end with flags and flares.Police vans lined the road and officers stood in cordons.
Footage posted on social media shows fans letting off smoke bombs and celebrating on top of a double decker bus through the streets of the city while motorists beeped their horns.
One fan John Manners,24, a delivery driver from Walton, said: ‘It’s so difficult for people like me. I’ve waited all these years since I was a kid at school for something like this. And I can’t be there.
‘There’s nothing we can do. But stand here and get close to the ground on the team as possible.
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