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Darwin Núñez pep talk and moments missed on emotional day Liverpool waved Jürgen Klopp goodbye

Jürgen Klopp with his hand on his heart as he looks towards the Liverpool fans.
Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp. -Credit:Photo by Andrew Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images


It was a day where no one — inside or outside of the Liverpool bubble — really knew exactly how things would unfold. Who had Jürgen Klopp announcing Arne Slot's arrival by getting the Anfield crowd to sing him a welcome song on their bingo card?

That was just one of the many iconic lines in Klopp's farewell speech, that overshadowed the actual soccer itself. Just a few minutes after the final whistle was blown, the Klopp celebration was underway; Alexis Mac Allister and Jarell Quansah's goals that won the match felt like they were hours ago.

Amid all the Klopp moments that you will no doubt want to relive for a long time to come, there are some parts of the day that you might have missed. But don't worry! Liverpool.com has you covered — and you can let us know any other favorite parts of the final matchday of the Klopp era in the comments section below the article.

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Wolves fume at VAR (again)

In the game itself (remember that?), Wolves boss Gary O'Neil was fuming on multiple occasions about VAR. But ultimately, Chris Kavanagh's decision to upgrade the yellow card given to Nélson Semedo to a red was the right one.

The fourth official, Anthony Backhouse, a new name on the Premier League refereeing circuit, would have expected to hear little from Klopp on his final match in charge, but O'Neil was constantly in his ear.

Last of the Jürgen Klopp hugs

Harvey Elliott and Darwin Núñez both received their final public hugs from Klopp on the touchline, with the former coming off and falling into his arms and the latter getting a last pep talk before being introduced to the action. Privately, though, there might be a few more of those as the celebration of his tenure continues.

That was about as active as Klopp got on the touchline as he calmly completed his final match in charge of the Reds. Most of the time, he was sat on the bench watching with the rest of the Anfield crowd — perhaps the closest he will get to sitting on The Kop, where he was pictured taking a moment to himself earlier this week.

Players' children on the pitch

At the final whistle, it is not uncommon on the final Anfield matchday of the campaign, for the players to bring their families onto the pitch. Mohamed Salah's daughter, in previous years, has loved scoring goals and getting huge cheers.

This time, most of the crowd had gone home by the time the players re-emerged onto the pitch. Seemingly thinking that the celebrations were over after Klopp's speech, most people made their way out by the time the players and staff came back out.

The children of several players enjoyed themselves regardless. An hour or so later, Thiago Alcântara pushed a pram down the Main Stand touchline with his family. His son ran onto the pitch — completely empty by this point — to score a goal.

The Spaniard departs without having played the part that he would have liked at Anfield, but still with plenty of moments to savor. As much as anything else, one of Thiago's children was born on Merseyside.

Pep Lijnders slips and the final goodbyes

As the goodbyes took place for Klopp and his staff, Liverpool assistant Pep Lijnders slipped on the stage. He just about regained his composure, though, and carried on the enthusiastic celebrations. Just prior to that, he had had a go of his own fist pumps directed towards The Kop

Trent Alexander-Arnold was crying as Klopp's speech took place and he wasn't the only emotional one on the day. Klopp's wife, Ulla, couldn't hold back the tears in the stands at the final whistle. Anfield, by that point, was at its loudest with renditions of the Klopp song.

There were the final fist pumps of the Klopp era, an unexpected announcement of Arne Slot, and plenty more besides. All in all, an emotional afternoon that will live long in the Liverpool memory.