Jurgen Klopp will manage another at the weekend in a tireless record-breaking career at Liverpool. And if the subsequent opening of the new stand at Anfield Road is anything to go by, their manager will be forced to make the most of it by now when the Reds bid an emotional farewell in May.
Around 60,000 people are expected to attend Saturday’s Premier League trip to Burnley, with hospitality space available at the top of the Anfield Road stand for the first time. There is still work to be done on the back row and outside to increase the capacity to 61,000, but this is another milestone in the £100m development.
The attendance of 58,757 for Chelsea’s top-flight tour in December 1949 still holds the current record, the largest crowd ever seen at Anfield for a league match. In February 1952, a crowd of 61,905 attended the FA Cup fifth round match against Wolves, a figure that is likely to remain for the foreseeable future.
The Fenway Sports Group-owned stadium has seen significant changes during the Klopp era, with more than 15,000 seats added to its capacity. It matched their impressive Premier League home form, with Liverpool losing just once in front of their own fans at Anfield in seven years (2-1 against Leeds United in October 2022).
The delay in closing the new stand at Anfield Road allowed Reds to prepare for the partial opening of the top tier, which will not be available until the start of the season, which came in mid-December. The lack of noise during the goalless draw was the talk of the town.
However, games against West Ham United and Fulham in the League Cup, Norwich City in the FA Cup and Arsenal, Newcastle United and Chelsea in the league created a heated atmosphere. And Liverpool will need more support to continue their challenge on four fronts.
Anfield will be decisive. From Burnley. The Reds still have eight home games in the Premier League, with two of the highlights coming against Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur. Realistically, they will need to win most if not all of them to have any chance of crowning City as champions.
