Liverpool have enjoyed themselves since clinching the Premier League title last month
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Arne Slot at Ocean Beach
Arne Slot at Ocean Beach
The Premier League season is drawing to a close and for many teams there is still a lot on the line. Liverpool, though, have effectively been completing a victory lap after clinching the championship last month with four games to spare after victory over Tottenham Hotspur.
Reds boss Arne Slot has been spotted partying in Ibiza, while several others have jetted off on holiday. Goalkeeper Alisson Becker and captain Virgil van Dijk were among a group of players seen enjoying themselves in Dubai with the Reds not in action until next Monday at Brighton.
There's a possibility such images could irritate fans of other clubs who are still scrapping it out for their respective targets. But should Liverpool be concerned by how their celebrations are being perceived? The ECHO writers give their view...
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Ian Doyle
There's very good reason why Liverpool are making the most of being crowned champions early. Having been denied the collective experience - and the ability to head off wherever - due to coronavirus restrictions in 2020, the likes of Alisson and Van Dijk are well within their rights to take every chance to enjoy their achievement.
As for it perhaps peeving other sets of fans or even rival clubs - well, tough. Liverpool earned the right to do what they like over the closing weeks by being so utterly dominant in the Premier League this term. A lead of 15 points with two games remaining tells its own story.
Indeed, Arsenal still couldn't beat Liverpool on Sunday despite the Reds, with no other competitions to play for, having barely trained for the most part in the week leading up to the game.
There are a couple of other points to make. It is unusual for a Premier League title to be wrapped up so early with the winning club not having any other commitments.
And when Liverpool were regularly winning the title in the 1970s and 1980s, instant travel wasn't quite so straightforward and the all-seeing-eye of social media didn't exist. Does anyone really think those players weren't out having a few jars and putting their feet up in between games?
Not for the first time, consider the 1982/83 season. Liverpool were that far ahead at the top of the table, they could afford to take just two points from their final seven games and still win the title by 11 points. You can bet there were more than a few nights out during the closing weeks of that campaign.
Joe Rimmer
Liverpool have earned the right to do whatever they want in the final weeks of the campaign, having wrapped up the title so early.
If Arne Slot wants to stick Mighty Red on up front for the trip to Brighton or final match against Crystal Palace at Anfield, then that's his prerogative. He's earned the right to choose and Mighty could probably do with the minutes.
It's a particular irritation when those associated with other clubs criticise a team's approach to any match. Take 2007, for instance, when Neil Warnock whinged long and loud over Rafael Benitez's decision to change his team in the final weeks of the campaign, leading to Fulham picking up the points to keep them up and Sheffield United condemned to the Championship.
Warnock never forgave Benitez but the Spaniard was rightly prioritising his own club and a Champions League final.
And so it means Slot can rotate, party and give his team the time off until his heart's content. Liverpool have done their job. Other teams should concentrate on doing theirs.
That Liverpool put in such a good performance against Arsenal showed they are still approaching every game with the right attitude. What they do between matches is entirely up to them. The champions do as they want.