20th April

Michael’s golden ball
2002 - We beat Derby County 2-0 at Anfield, with double goalscorer Michael Owen being presented with the Ballon d’Or trophy for European Football of the Year before the match. A minute’s silence was also observed before kick-off, in memory of the bereaved and survivors of the Hillsborough disaster. Steven Gerrard and Danny Murphy both made their hundredth League appearances for the reds in this game.

On the same day, young reserves forward John Miles left for Stoke City on a free transfer. He only made one senior appearance for the Potters before moving on to Crewe Alexandra after being released at the end of that season.

On the way to Rome
1977 - We reached our first European Cup Final after beating Zürich 3-0 at Anfield in the second leg of our Semi-final, with Jimmy Case netting a brace and Kevin Keegan grabbing the other, to go through 6-1 on aggregate as forward Alan Waddle made his 22nd and final reds appearance, as a substitute. Keegan said afterwards, “The only reason I have stayed here is to get to the European Cup Final, and now I’ve done that.”

Trouncing the Toffees
2016 – Daniel Sturridge reached a half century of reds goals as we thumped Everton 4-0 at Anfield. Divock Origi and Mamadou Sakho, in his final reds game, both headed in shortly before the break before Ramiro Funes Mori was dismissed and then Sturridge struck. The scoring was rounded out by Philippe Coutinho.
1974 - We were held to a goalless draw in the Anfield derby.

We go again
2014 – We secured a joint club record eleventh consecutive League win when we won 3-2 at Norwich City, also a joint club record sixth straight away League victory. This was also a joint club record 25th consecutive top-flight League game in which we had netted. Raheem Sterling and Luis Suárez struck early on as the Uruguayan became the first red to score thirty League goals in a season since Ian Rush in 1987, with Gary Hooper pulling a goal back after the break. Sterling netted again with Robert Snodgrass heading in as we hung on for victory. This left the reds needing just seven points from the last three games to claim the title.

Happy birthdays
1902 - Left-back Ernie Blenkinsop was born in Cudworth, Yorkshire. He played 71 reds games without scoring, having won 26 England caps by the time he arrived from Sheffield Wednesday for £6,500 in March 1934. He moved on to Cardiff City in November 1937.

1996 – Brazilian loanee midfielder Arthur Melo was born in Goiânia. He joined on loan from Juventus for €4.5m in September 2022, but only made one senior reds appearance as a late substitute at SSC Napoli later that month, due to injury.

Red centurions
2005 - Milan Baroš played his hundredth reds game as we won 2-1 at Portsmouth in a League match, with Fernando Morientes scoring before Diomansy Kamara equalised, with Luis García bagging the winner.
1896 – Forward Malcolm McVean reached a century of reds appearances as we were held to a goalless draw at Small Heath’s Coventry Road ground in a Test Match as we attempted to make it back into the top flight, eventually unsuccessfully.

A new boss
1991 - Graeme Souness got off to a good start as Manager as we beat Norwich City 3-0 at Anfield in his first match in charge. The goals came from John Barnes, Ray Houghton and Ian Rush.
1988 - We also faced the Canaries, holding them to a goalless draw at Carrow Road as they became the first team against whom we had twice drawn a blank in the League that season, so holding off our League title celebrations for another three days.

Reds debutants
1910 - Left-back Donald McKinlay made the first of his 434 reds appearances in a top-flight fixture with Nottingham Forest at Anfield, with Jack Parkinson scoring four goals in our stunning 7-3 win. Sam Bowyer added a brace, with Jimmy Stewart also on target. John Derrick struck twice for the visitors, with Tom Marrison also on target.
1957 - We also entertained Forest, winning our Second Division meeting 3-1, thanks to goals from Alan A’Court, Billy Liddell and Tony Rowley. James Barratt bagged the last of his four goals past us.
1968 - Doug Livermore, who became the club’s Assistant Manager under Roy Evans, made his reds bow in a 1-0 League defeat at West Ham United, with Martin Peters netting one of his fourteen strikes against the reds. Livermore only played eighteen games for us during his five-year spell as a player at Anfield.

Racing to a hat-trick
1929 - Harry Race netted three goals in our 5-2 home League win over Sunderland. Gordon Hodgson bagged our other two goals, with Dave Halliday netting two of his thirteen goals against the reds. Adam Allan was dismissed for the visitors.
1931 – Gordon Hodgson grabbed a treble as we thumped Norwich City 6-0 in a Monday night Hospital Charity Cup encounter at their old ground, The Nest. Gordon Gunson bagged a brace with Dave Wright also on target.

George returns
1898 - Centre-forward George Allan re-signed for the club from Celtic for £50. He had originally joined from Leith Athletic for £100 in June 1895 and was the first red to be capped by Scotland, top scoring as we claimed the Second Division title in 1896, and again the following season. He returned north of the border in May 1897 for just a season, bagging a total of 56 goals in 96 reds games before sadly dying of tuberculosis in October 1899 aged just 24.

Beginning and end
1985 – Gary Gillespie grabbed the first of his sixteen reds goals as we beat Newcastle United 3-1 at Anfield, with John Wark and Paul Walsh also on the scoresheet.
1963 – Full-back Allan Jones played his fifth and last reds game as we drew 0-0 at Fulham, with inside-forward Jimmy Melia making his 105th consecutive appearance for the reds.

Bruce gets the elbow
1987 - Bruce Grobbelaar broke his elbow as we lost 1-0 at Manchester United, with Peter Davenport bagging the late winner.
1953 - We also visited Old Trafford for a First Division match, with Sammy Smyth on target as we lost 3-1. Forward Arthur Rowley played his eleventh and final reds game with Bryan Williams appearing for the 34th and last time as Stan Pearson scored one of his eleven goals against the reds, with Jack Rowley netting one of his six past us and Johnny Berry also on target.

Clean sheets against the Shakers and Blues
We have twice beaten Chelsea in First Division meetings on this day in history, without conceding.
1908 - Tom Chorlton and Bill McPherson netted in the last ten minutes of our first ever trip to Stamford Bridge, with left-half Jim Bradley playing his hundredth League game for us. This was McPherson’s seventeenth and final reds goal in his 55th and last match for the club.
1935 - Fred Howe and Lance Carr struck in L4, to add to braces from Vic Wright and Berry Nieuwenhuys. Centre-half Tom ‘Tiny’ Bradshaw was making his 200th League appearance for the club, while left-half John Browning made his senior bow.

We have also twice kept clean sheets against Bury in the top-flight.
1899 - Inside-right Johnny Walker netted the only goal of the game at Anfield.
1901 - We shared a goalless ninety minutes at Gigg Lane.

Sadio honoured
2017 – Forward Sadio Mané was named in the PFA Team of the Year after a fine first campaign in L4.

For Bill
1932 – Gordon Hodgson struck twice as we beat a Shelbourne Select side in a testimonial match for forward Billy Lacey at Dalymount Park in Dublin.

Jari on the move
2011 - Jari Litmanen re-signed for HJK Helsinki, helping them to secure a League and Cup double later that year.

Double farewell
1895 – Left-back Duncan McLean made his 82nd and final reds appearance in our 5-2 Anfield defeat by Preston North End, with outside-left Hugh McQueen playing for the 61st and last time. Harry Bradshaw struck both our goals, with Jackie Pierce nabbing a brace for the visitors. Adam Henderson, Tom Smith and John Cunningham also struck for the Lilywhites.

A young Saint no more
1960 - Future red Ian St. John won his second and final Scotland Under-23’s cap in a 1-1 draw with Belgium in Ghent.

Green again
1918 – Thomas Green scored in his fifth consecutive game as we beat Stockport County 4-2 in a Wartime League match at Anfield, our last match of the season. Harry Lewis struck twice, including once from the spot, with Arthur Goddard also on the scoresheet.

Other reds games
1992 – We were thumped 4-0 at Arsenal. Ian Wright struck the first two of his seven goals against the reds, with David Hillier and Anders Limpar also on target.
1912 – Jimmy Stewart netted as we beat Sheffield United 2-0 at Anfield, before Arthur Goddard converting a twice-taken penalty, having hit the post at the first attempt.
1907 – We lost 2-0 at Notts County.

Bruce the champion
1981 – Bruce Grobbelaar kept a clean sheet as Zimbabwe beat Malawi 4-0 in the Final of the Independence Cup in Harare.

Also in international action
1994 – Ex-red Jim Magilton played as Northern Ireland beat Liechtenstein 4-1 in a European Championships qualifier at Windsor Park. Meanwhile, Ian Rush, Ronnie Whelan future reds Gary McAllister, Phil Babb, Øyvind Leonhardsen, Jason McAteer and ex-red Steve Staunton all played in friendlies, with Roy Hodgson taking charge of Switzerland.
2005 – Future red Ragnar Klavan represented Estonia as they lost a friendly 2-1 to Norway in Tallinn.
2011 – Future red Mohamed Salah featured for Egypt Under-20’s in their 1-0 defeat to Mali in an African Championship Finals group game in South Africa.
2019 – Bobby Duncan and Curtis Jones both played for England Under-18’s as they thumped Japan 4-1 in a friendly in Dubai.