'They are not supposed to' - National media have Jurgen Klopp theory as rivals miss Liverpool point

So that's it. After almost nine years, the exhilarating Jurgen Klopp era at Liverpool was brought to a close with a 2-0 home win over Wolves.

Alexis Mac Allister and Jarell Quansah scored the goals as the Reds ended their Premier League campaign on 81 points with a comfortable triumph on a day when supporters celebrated their departing manager.

It made for a memorable and emotional afternoon at Anfield. And here's how the national media, and the ECHO's own Paul Gorst, viewed the end of Klopp's time in charge.

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Paul Joyce of The Times - and formerly of this parish - detailed how only Liverpool fans will truly understand the job Klopp did at Anfield.

"Supporters of other clubs have scoffed at the attention Klopp has received this week, people narrowing down his achievements to point out he has won the same number of titles as Claudio Ranieri," he scribes. "But they are not supposed to understand what he has meant to Liverpool. They weren’t there when he took over a team idling listlessly, and how he immediately brought hope and whisked them on the ride of their life.

"They haven’t sung Allez, Allez, Allez in Porto until they were hoarse, they haven’t floated home discussing how Mohamed Salah scored that goal or debated in the pub whether Van Dijk gets in an all-time Liverpool XI.

"Afterwards, Klopp said he would be back one day, but joked the opening weekend of the new season would come too soon. In the meantime, his legacy lives on."

Jonathan Wilson of The Guardian pointed to how this generation of Liverpool supporters now have their own reference for an era of success.

"He has made Liverpool an indisputably elite club again after the long years of faded grandeur," he says. "There is no need now for their fans always to hark back to the days of Shankly and Paisley; the Klopp years have their own distinct flavour.

"It might not be so garlanded with silverware as the golden years of the late 70s and early 80s, but this is a different world: you take your glory as you find it. There have been the great performances, the games that will never be forgotten, from the 4-3 Europa League win over Borussia Dortmund in 2016 to the 3-0 Champions League success against Manchester City in 2018 to the 4-0 comeback against Barcelona in the second leg of the Champions League semi-final in 2019.

"And memories are no small thing; trophies may be tangible tokens of success, they may be the point of the whole enterprise, but it is the games that fans will recall in quiet moments decades from now."

Ian Ladyman of the Daily Mail highlighted one moment in the second half that spoke for everybody.

"As the second half wore on and Klopp used his full complement of substitutes, an embrace with young Harvey Elliott as he left the field particularly stood out," he writes.

"Klopp is a tall man and Elliott had to reach up to embrace him. As he did so, the 21-year-old looked for all the world as though he didn't really want to let go. And that, in short, is how half of this football city feels. Nobody really wants to let go.

"The mural painted on the side of the shop just along from the back of the Kop perhaps says it best. 'Jurgen reminded us again of who we have always been'. In a purely sporting sense, they will mourn Klopp's passing here for some time. Once that fades, they will simply never forget him."

Finally, Paul Gorst of the ECHO pointed to a small exchange long after the final whistle on Sunday that said everything about the occasion.

"So off he goes then, to deservedly enjoy the holiday of a lifetime, with his place among the established order of genius at Liverpool FC safe and secure," he pens. "For those who watched him get there, it was an utter privilege.

"But perhaps, the sliding scale of emotions on the day was best summed up not by Klopp, but by his wife, Ulla, in a solemn, tender exchange with one club employee in a quiet corridor, away from the madness and the noise all around them.

"'Are you okay?' asked the staff member as they walked together. 'Not really,' came the reply. Mrs Klopp was not alone. Gut gemacht, Jurgen. You made the people happy."