Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp struggled to contain his emotions after seeing Reds fans return to Anfield on Sunday.
A small crowd of 2,000 were allowed to attend the Premier League clash against Wolves and Klopp’s team rewarded them by claiming an emphatic 4-0 win.
Mohamed Salah opened the scoring in the 24th minute before Georginio Wijnaldum and Joel Matip struck in the second half with a Nelson Semedo own-goal wrapping up the result late on.
While satisfied with his team’s strong performance, it was the return of the Anfield faithful that really struck a chord with Klopp.
“The game, the atmosphere, it was so nice. I had goosebumps. They started ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ – really nice. I never knew it could feel that good,” Klopp told the BBC post-match, before starting to become emotional.
“This started in February and we were waiting to get normality back,” he continued. “Normality is good – I don’t think we appreciated it as much. It was very very touching.
“Wasn’t it a perfect night? Whatever the weather was like outside, it was sunshine inside the stadium.
“There were a few challenges before the game – Wolves play different systems. I gave the boys information about how to press them. The boys were outstanding with how they dealt with them – our best result against Wolves.”
On young goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher, who started the game and kept an impressive clean sheet, Klopp added: “Very mature. Very calm. Very good with the ball and without the ball. It was a night to remember for him.”
Wijnaldum netted a superb second goal for the Reds and though quick to dismiss questions about a new contract, he was also thrilled to have fans back at Anfield.
“It’s wonderful – really excited when we heard supporters were allowed. It was a great feeling they were back,” Wijnaldum said.
“I don’t want to say it’s a ‘champions’ performance’. We were patient, the position play was good and we scored good goals.
“The fans helped the performance a lot because they cheered during the game and before we only had the bench for support.”
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