17th December

Sander’s been and gone
2001 - Sander Westerveld left for Real Sociedad in a £3.49m deal. He had kept goal for us 103 times, helping the reds to five trophies in that year. He is currently goalkeeping coach for Ajax Cape Town in South Africa.

Ged the centurion
2000 - Gérard Houllier’s hundredth game in sole charge was a 1-0 win at Manchester United, our fiftieth against them in all competitions. Danny Murphy’s free-kick after Gary Neville handled the ball shortly before half time sent United to their hundredth League defeat under Sir Alex Ferguson, with Michael Owen striking the crossbar after the break. United’s Luke Chadwick was sent off late on for bringing down Vladimír Šmicer.

More victories over the Mancs
We have twice beaten Manchester United in the top flight at Anfield on this day in history.
1995 - Robbie Fowler netted both in a 2-0 win, including a superb free-kick at the Kop end, while his second took him to fifty League goals. He also later struck twice in that season’s 2-2 draw at Old Trafford.
1921 - Billy Lacey and Harry Chambers netted in our 2-1 victory as we came from behind.

A goalscoring debut
1955 - Jimmy Melia scored a left-foot volley in front of the Kop on his reds bow as we thumped Nottingham Forest 5-2 in a Second Division fixture. Billy Liddell scored a second-half hat-trick, including his 150th goal for the club, with John Evans netting our opener. James Barrett netted one of his four goals past us, with Peter Small also on target for Forest.
1996 - We also beat Forest at Anfield when Stan Collymore struck a brace against his old club as we won 4-2. Robbie Fowler was also on target, with our other strike being a Des Lyttle own goal. Kevin Campbell struck the first of his four goals against the reds, with Stuart Pearce also netting.

Youngest ever reds
2019 – We fielded the club’s youngest ever side, at an average age of nineteen years and 182 days as the senior players were in Qatar for the FIFA Cup World Cup, although this record was broken just two months later. Pedro Chirivella captained the reds for the first time as we lost our League Cup Quarter-final 5-0 at Aston Villa. Centre-back Morgan Boyes, left-back Tony Gallacher and winger Luis Longstaff played their only games for the club, with forward Jack Bearne, left-back James Norris and midfielders Isaac Christie-Davies, Leighton Clarkson and Tom Hill all also debuting with Under-23’s Coach Neil Critchley taking charge, as midfielder Herbie Kane made his second and last senior outing.

On the same day, the club reached agreement to sign Japanese forward Takumi Minamino at the end of the season from Red Bull Salzburg for £7.25m. He went on to score fourteen goals in 55 outings, helping us to claim the Premier League title before moving on to AS Monaco for an initial €15m in June 2022.

Debut strikes
2014 - We beat Bournemouth 3-1 in a Capital One Cup Fifth Round tie at their Goldsands Stadium, thanks to a Raheem Sterling brace and Lazar Marković’s first reds goal, with ex-Evertonian Dan Gosling on target for the home side.
2017 – We beat Bournemouth 4-0 at the renamed Vitality Stadium, with Philippe Coutinho, Dejan Lovren and Mohamed Salah all on target before the break. Roberto Firmino completed the scoring.

1997 - Michael Owen won his only Under-21’s cap, netting in England’s 4-2 play-off defeat of Greece at Carrow Road, with strike partner and future red Emile Heskey bagging a brace. Jamie Carragher also played. Unfortunately, the Greeks qualified for the European Championships Finals, 4-4 on the away goals rule.

Most recently
2023 – We were held to a frustrating goalless draw at Anfield by Manchester United, with Diogo Dalot sent off for the visitors in stoppage time.

Joy against the Baggies
1932 - Gordon Hodgson and Harold Barton scored as we beat West Bromwich Albion 2-0 at Anfield.
1898 - We also entertained the Baggies, when Hugh Morgan and Johnny Walker were on the scoresheet as we drew 2-2.

Signing on
1919 - David Ashworth was appointed as Manager. He had previously guided Oldham Athletic from non-League into the top flight, to whom he returned in December 1922 with the reds en route to retaining the League title he had led them to the previous season.
1953 – Left-half Geoff Twentyman signed from his hometown club Carlisle United for £10,000. He netted nineteen times in 184 reds games, moving on to Ballymena United in March 1960. He returned to Anfield as Chief Scout in 1967, a post he held for nineteen years, helping to bring players such as Ray Clemence, Alan Hansen, Steve Heighway, Phil Neal and Ian Rush to the club. He died aged 74 in February 2004.

Red farewells
1910 - Left-half Jim Bradley played his 185th and final reds game, as goals from Jack Parkinson and Jimmy Stewart handed us a 2-0 home win over Sheffield United as keeper Sam Hardy saved a penalty from Joe Kitchen. In fact, Bradley’s last three reds games were against the two Sheffield clubs!
1988 – Norwich City won 1-0 at Anfield thanks to a goal from Andy Townsend as midfielder Nigel Spackman appeared for the 63rd and final time.

1953 - Forward Sam Raybould died. He signed from New Brighton Tower in January 1900 for £250, scoring 130 times in 226 reds games and helping us to claim two League titles before moving on to Sunderland in May 1907.

Mixed fortunes on Wearside
1938 - We won 3-2 at Roker Park thanks to goals from Bill Kinghorn and Phil Taylor and wing-half Tom Bush’s only reds strike as outside-right Berry Nieuwenhuys played his 200th League game for us.
1949 - Ken Brierley and Cyril Done netted as Sunderland beat us by the same score in another First Division encounter as centre-half Laurie Hughes played his hundredth reds game. Len Shackleton bagged the first of his five goals against the reds, with Harry Kirtley and Tommy Reynolds also on the scoresheet.

Parson off the mark
1927 – Right-back Jimmy ‘Parson’ Jackson scored the first of his two reds strikes as we lost 3-1 at Tottenham Hotspur. Frank Osborne bagged the last of his four goals past us with Jack Elkes nabbing the first two of his four against the reds.

Thumping the Magpies
1983 - Graeme Souness bagged a brace, including one from the spot, as we beat Notts County 5-0 at Anfield. Steve Nicol and Ian Rush were also on target, with David Hunt putting through his own net.

Other reds games
1977 – Phil Neal netted the only goal of Queens Park Rangers’ visit to L4 from the spot.
1960 – We drew a Second Division fixture 2-2 at Leeds United, with Kevin Lewis and Tommy Leishman on the scoresheet. Billy Bremner bagged the first of his five goals against the reds, with Tommy Murray also scoring.

1904 – We beat Bristol City 3-1 in a Second Division encounter at Anfield. Jack Parkinson bagged a brace, with Alex Raisbeck also netting.
1892 – Blackpool left L4 having beaten the reds 2-0 in a Lancashire League match.

A Fox once more
1987 - Kevin MacDonald joined his old club Leicester City on loan as he continued his comeback from a broken leg suffered in September 1986. He later returned to Anfield, but only made a further seven senior appearances before returning to Filbert Street permanently.

Vlad’s Arabian night
1997 - Future red Vladimír Šmicer bagged a treble in the Czech Republic’s 6-1 thumping of the United Arab Emirates in a Confederations Cup game in Saudi Arabia.

On the move
2013 – Former reserves right-winger Toni Silva signed for CSKA Sofia, having been released by Barnsley six months previously.
2020 – Hungarian midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai signed for RasenBallsport Leipzig e.V. from Red Bull Salzburg. He scored twenty goals in 91 games while helping Die Roten Bullen to clinch the DFB-Pokal twice.

Rio on target
2023 – Future red Rio Ngumoha scored for England Under-16’s as they beat the Netherlands 4-3 in a friendly at St. George’s Park.

Scots in action
1975 - Ex-reds reserves striker Ted MacDougall won his seventh and final cap for Scotland as a substitute in their 1-1 European Championships qualifying draw with Romania at Hampden Park. Future red Kenny Dalglish also played.
2003 - Robbie Foy won his only cap for Scotland Under-20’s as they won 2-1 in Portugal in a friendly.

2015 – Future red Ozan Kabak skippered Turkey Under-16’s in their 2-1 friendly defeat of North Macedonia in Side.

Honoured
2020 - Thiago Alcântara, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Alisson Becker and Virgil van Dijk were all named in the FIFA FIFPRO Men's World 11.