It is Wednesday night and the bell for last orders rings at The Freshfield pub in the village of Formby, a few miles north of Liverpool. It feels like a metaphor for something else that is fast drawing to a close. The party’s nearly over. The carousel that has been whirling Liverpool fans on a joyous ride for nine years is about to shudder to a halt.
When the sound of the bell fades, Jurgen Klopp saunters through the double-doors at the back of the pub and wanders out on to the patio to rejoin his friends.