10th October

A legend gets off the mark
1981 - Ian Rush scored his first two reds League goals to help us to a 3-0 home win over Leeds United, along with a Trevor Cherry own goal.
1925 - We also faced Leeds, with Fred Baron netting in a 1-1 draw at Anfield. Full-back James Garner played his fifth and final reds game. Russell Wainscott struck one of his five goals against the reds in this match.

Births and a death
1991 - Xherdan Shaqiri was born in Gjilan, then part of SFR Yugoslavia, and now in Kosovo. He signed from relegated Stoke City in July 2018 for £12.85m, netting eight times in 63 appearances and helping us to claim our first League title for thirty years and the FIFA Club World Cup, moving on to Olympique Lyonnais for €6m in August 2021.

1983 - Former reserves defender Andrew Nicholas was born in Liverpool. He could not break through to our first team and moved on to Swindon Town in July 2003.
1950 – Bobby Robinson died. He moved to the reds from his hometown club Sunderland for £500 in February 1904. He was top scorer as we won the Second Division title the following season, also helping us claim the First Division championship in 1906. During the latter stages of his time with the reds, he moved into the half-back line but still bagged a total of 65 goals in 271 games, moving on to Tranmere Rovers in May 1913.

Anfield testimonials
1993 - A testimonial match was staged for Steve Nicol, who scored in the reds’ 2-1 defeat by a Great Britain XI managed by Terry Venables.
1992 - A match in honour of Bruce Grobbelaar was played, with the game against Everton ending in a 2-2 draw, with David Burrows and Ronnie Rosenthal on target and Bruce missing a penalty!

A goalscoring debut
1914 - Inside-right Fred Pagnam scored on his reds bow, although he could not prevent us succumbing to a 3-1 defeat at Chelsea.
1896 – Willie Michael scored his first reds goal as we beat Nottingham Forest 3-0 at Anfield, with Malcolm McVean and Harry Bradshaw also scoring.

New and old signings
1894 - Scottish half-back John McLean signed from Greenock Volunteers. He made 29 appearances without scoring before joining Grimsby Town in June 1897.
1948 - Albert Stubbins re-signed with the reds following a dispute with the club who had refused his request to train during the week back in his native Newcastle. He struck a total of 83 goals in 178 reds games in total.
2022 – Midfielder James McConnell signed a new contract. He signed from Sunderland as an Under-15, first turning pro in September 2021. He played nine senior games in 2023/24, including coming off the bench to help us claim the League Cup at Wembley.

Debutants galore
1959 - Inside-forward Willie Carlin and centre-half John Nicholson both played their only reds games as we were held to a 2-2 Second Division draw at Anfield by Brighton & Hove Albion. Alan A’Court scored with Jimmy Melia having a late penalty saved by Brighton keeper Dave Hollins, before bagging a last-minute equaliser.
1931 – John Charlton and wing-half Alastair Henderson both made their reds bows as we were held to a 2-2 top-flight draw at home by West Ham United. Gordon Gunson and Dave Wright netted our goals, with Bob Done having a spot-kick saved by keeper Ted Hufton.
1970 – Ian Rush attended his first reds game, shortly before his ninth birthday, although he was actually supporting the home side as Tottenham Hotspur won 1-0 at White Hart Lane, thanks to a Martin Peters goal, one of his fourteen past us.

Five for Jack
1904 - Jack Parkinson scored five goals as we thumped Burnley 7-1 in a Lancashire Senior Cup game at Anfield, with Bobby Robinson and Arthur Goddard also netting.

Internationals on target
2020 – Roberto Firmino bagged a brace as Brazil thrashed Bolivia 5-0 in a World Cup qualifier in São Paulo. Xherdan Shaqiri and ex-reds Emre Can and Philippe Coutinho also played for their countries that day.
2019 – Roberto Firmino netted for Brazil as they drew 1-1 with Senegal in Singapore, with future reds Wataru Endō and Takumi Minamino both scoring for Japan as they thumped Mongolia 6-0 in a World Cup qualifier in Saitama, with this being Endō’s first senior goal for his country and only one as a Koninklijke Sint-Truidense Voetbalvereniging player. Rafael Camacho, Caoimhín Kelleher, Dejan Lovren, Sadio Mané, Andy Robertson, Virgil van Dijk, Gini Wijnaldum, Harry Wilson, future red Arthur Melo and ex-reds Joe Allen, Ryan Babel, Christian Benteke, Philippe Coutinho and Péter Gulácsi all represented their countries that day, with Steve Clarke taking charge of Scotland and Bernard Diomède managing France Under-20’s.

2016 – Ex-red Christian Benteke scored a hat-trick as Belgium thumped Gibraltar 6-0 in a World Cup qualifier in Faro, including the fastest ever goal in World Cup history after just 8.1 seconds. Ovie Ejaria scored his first goal for England Under-20’s, with future red Dominic Solanke converting a penalty in their 2-0 defeat of the USA in Rochdale. Trent Alexander-Arnold, Ragnar Klavan, Gini Wijnaldum, future reds Xherdan Shaqiri, Kostas Tsimikas and Virgil van Dijk, and ex-red Péter Gulácsi all also featured for their countries that day.
2017 – Shaqiri played for Switzerland again, as they lost a World Cup qualifier 2-0 in Portugal, with Tsimikas featuring for Greece Under-21’s. Ragnar Klavan, future reds Federico Chiesa, Wataru Endō, Diogo Jota and Dominik Szoboszlai, and ex-reds Péter Gulácsi, Javier Mascherano and Brad Smith were also in international action, with Marko Grujić winning his sixteenth and last cap for Serbia Under-21’s.

2015 – Gini Wijnaldum scored his first goal as a Newcastle United player as the Netherlands won a European Championships qualifier 2-1 in Kazakhstan, with future red Virgil van Dijk making his senior bow and Simon Mignolet also in qualifying action. Meanwhile, Sheyi Ojo, Jordan Rossiter and future red Dominic Solanke all turned out for England Under-19’s in a European Championships qualifying defeat of Finland in Macedonia, with ex-Academy Manager Steve Cooper taking charge of an England Under-17’s side that included Herbie Kane as they lost to Chile on penalties after their friendly ended goalless.
2014 – Future red Mohamed Salah scored as Egypt won an Africa Cup of Nations qualifier 2-0 in Botswana, with future reds Sadio Mané and Kostas Tsimikas also in international action.

1999 - Jamie Redknapp scored for Kevin Keegan’s England in their 2-1 friendly defeat of Belgium at the Stadium Of Light, his only senior international goal. Paul Ince won his last cap as a reds player, while Michael Owen and future red Emile Heskey both also featured, with Owen booked for an alleged dive. On the same day, future red Fernando Morientes netted in Spain’s 3-0 defeat of Yossi Benayoun’s Israel in a Euro 2000 qualifier in Albacete, with future red Alex Manninger also in international action.
1997 – Manninger played for Austria Under-21’s as they beat Belarus 2-0 in a European Championships qualifier in Eisenstadt.
1998 - Craig Bellamy struck his second and last goal as a Norwich City player as Wales won a qualifier 2-1 in Denmark.

Sammy in charge
2000 - Sammy Lee took charge of England Under-21’s for the first time, leading them to a 2-2 draw in Finland, with future red Daniel Sjölund on the scoresheet in this European Championships qualifier. On the same day, future red Milan Baroš scored for the Czech Republic Under-21’s in their 1-0 win in Malta, while Richie Partridge played for the Republic of Ireland as they beat Estonia 1-0 in Kilkenny.

Djimi for Mali
2004 - Djimi Traoré made his international debut for Mali, playing alongside future red Momo Sissoko as they lost 1-0 to Togo in a World Cup Qualifier. Salif Diao and future red Kolo Touré were also in qualifying action that day. Meanwhile, reds reserve David Raven skippered England Under-20’s while winning his first cap in their 1-0 friendly defeat of the Netherlands in Huddersfield. Fellow red Mark Smyth missed a penalty, with Danny Mannix also featuring with both of these winning their only caps at this level.

Three legends in action for Scotland
1942 - Matt Busby, Billy Liddell and future reds boss Bill Shankly all played as Scotland held England to a goalless draw in a Wartime international at Wembley.

Derby spoils shared
1903 - We were held to a 2-2 draw in the Anfield derby, with inside-left Dickie Morris grabbing his first two reds goals and Jim Sheridan bagging a brace for the visitors.
1910 – The Blues won a Lancashire Senior Cup Second Round game 1-0 at Anfield.

Thumping the Villains
1953 - We secured our biggest victory over Aston Villa, winning 6-1 at Anfield despite the scores being level with twenty minutes remaining. Sammy Smyth grabbed a brace as Bob Paisley nabbed his thirteenth and last reds strike, to add to goals from Billy Liddell and Jimmy Payne, and a Danny Blanchflower own goal. Dave Walsh bagged one of his four goals past us.

Don’s debut
1908 – Scottish keeper Don Sloan played the first of his six reds games as we lost a top-flight match 3-2 at Leicester Fosse. Ronald Orr struck both our goals.

Final caps
1990 - Glenn Hysén won his last cap for Sweden as they lost 3-1 to West Germany in a friendly in Stockholm, with future red Karlheinz Riedle on the winning side.
1989 - David Burrows won his seventh and final England Under-21’s cap as they won 3-1 in a European Championships qualifier in Poland. Future red Øyvind Leonhardsen played for Norway at the same level that day in Norway’s 1-0 win in Yugoslavia.
2002 - Pepe Reina made his last appearance for Spain at the same level as they won a qualifier 2-0 in Armenia. Meanwhile, future red Glen Johnson won his tenth and last Under-19’s cap as England drew a friendly 2-2 with FR Yugoslavia, with John Welsh also featuring.

2009 – Future reds centre-back Danny Wilson won his eighth and final cap for Scotland Under-19’s, skippering them to a 3-0 victory over Romania in a European Championships qualifier in Austria. On the same day, future red Nuri Şahin skippered Turkey as they lost a World Cup qualifier 2-0 in Belgium, with future red Ragnar Klavan playing for Estonia.
2014 – Alberto Moreno won his tenth and last cap for Spain Under-21’s as they drew a European Championships qualifier 0-0 in Serbia, with loanee Javier Manquillo also in action. Future red Marko Grujić scored for Serbia Under-19’s in their 4-0 defeat of San Marino in another qualifier.
2021 – Trent Kone-Doherty won his third and last Republic of Ireland Under-17’s cap as a Derry City player in their 2-0 defeat of North Macedonia in a European Championships qualifier in Cork. Alisson Becker, Fabinho, future reds Federico Chiesa, Luis Díaz and Darwin Núñez and ex-reds Sebastián Coates, Liam Millar and Luis Suárez all also played for their countries, while Bernard Diomède managed France Under-20’s.

Johnno off
2003 – Future red Glen Johnson was sent off as England Under-21’s lost a European Championships qualifier 1-0 in Turkey.

Youngsters on target
2007 - Krisztián Németh grabbed a brace for Hungary Under-19’s after coming off the bench in their 3-1 European Championships qualifying defeat of Wales, his first goals as a reds player. Péter Gulácsi also featured.
2010 – Jonjo Shelvey scored and was booked while skippering England Under-19’s as they thumped Cyprus 4-0 in a European Championships qualifier in Belgium. Michael Ngoo and Andre Wisdom both also played, with Arsenal’s Benik Afobe netting a treble. Ex-red Carl Medjani was also in international action that day.
2011 – Jordan Henderson netted while captaining England Under-21’s to a 2-1 European Championships qualifying win in Norway, with Jon Flanagan and Jonjo Shelvey both coming off the bench, and future red Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain also in action. On the same day, Christian Benteke won his only Under-21's cap as a Koninklijke Racing Club Genk player as Belgium drew a qualifier 2-2 in Azerbaijan.

2013 – Krisztián Adorján, Raheem Sterling, Suso and ex-red Tom Ince all played in Under-21’s European Championships qualifiers as future red Danny Ings made his debut at this level, with Jordon Ibe playing for the England Under-19’s. Tiago Ilori made his debut for Portugal Under-21’s on the same day in their 3-0 European Championships qualifying defeat of Israel.
2018 – Ex-red Toni Silva played for Guinea-Bissau as they lost an Africa Cup of Nations qualifier 2-1 in Zambia, while Dominik Szoboszlai represented Hungary Under-19’s in their 2-1 win over Slovenia in a European Championships qualifier in Budapest and fellow future red Ryan Gravenberch appeared for the Netherlands in their 5-0 defeat of Faroe Islands at the same level, with future red Federico Chiesa appearing as the senior Italian side drew a friendly 1-1 with Ukraine in Genoa.

First caps
2014 – Luis Suárez won his first cap as a Barcelona player in their 1-1 friendly draw in Saudi Arabia. Divock Origi netted for Belgium as they thumped Andorra 6-0 in Brussels, with Brad Smith and ex-reds Alberto Aquilani and Tom Ince also in international action that day.
1995 – Future red Vegard Heggem debuted for Norway Under-21’s in their 2-2 friendly draw with England in Stavanger.

2009 – Emiliano Insúa made his senior international debut as Argentina beat Peru 2-1 in a World Cup qualifier in Buenos Aires, with Javier Mascherano skippering the side. Mark González won his first cap as a CSKA Moskva player as Chile beat Colombia 4-2 in another qualifier in Medellin. Future reds coach John Heitinga played for the Netherlands for the first time since joining Everton as they shared a goalless draw with Australia in Sydney. Craig Bellamy netted as captain as John Toshack’s Wales lost 2-1 in a qualifier in Finland, with ex-reds Sami Hyypiä and Jari Litmanen on the winning side. Nicolas Anelka was also on target as France thumped the Faroe Islands 5-0 in Guingamp, while future red Milan Jovanović bagged a brace as Serbia trounced Romania by the same score in Belgrade. Ajax’s Luis Suárez netted in Uruguay’s 2-1 qualifying win in Ecuador. On the same day, Charlie Adam won his first cap as a Blackpool player, his third senior game for Scotland as they lost a friendly 2-0 in Japan.

Also in international action that day were Daniel Agger, Ryan Babel, Yossi Benayoun, Steven Gerrard, Glen Johnson, Dirk Kuyt, Pepe Reina, Martin Škrtel, Fernando Torres, future reds Raul Meireles, James Milner and Christian Poulsen, and ex-reds Milan Baroš, Emile Heskey, David James, Robbie Keane, Harry Kewell, Nikolay Mihaylov, John Arne Riise and Rigobert Song.

Other reds games
1964 – We held Birmingham City to a goalless draw at St. Andrews in what was Bill Shankly’s 200th League game in charge of the reds.
1936 – We drew 3-3 at Middlesbrough thanks to goals from Fred Howe, Phil Taylor and Berry Nieuwenhuys. Tim Coleman struck the last of his ten goals against the reds, with Tom Cochrane scoring before Benny Yorston bagging the last of his five past us.

On their way out
2006 - Salif Diao agreed to join Stoke City on loan, following previous temporary spells away from Anfield with both Birmingham City and Portsmouth. He turned out seventeen times for them before signing on permanently in January 2007.
2013 – Ex-reds midfielder Danny Murphy announced his retirement from playing. He had struck 44 times in 249 reds games, helping us to claim the UEFA Cup, FA Cup, League Cup, UEFA Super Cup and FA Charity Shield. He later turned out for Charlton Athletic, Tottenham Hotspur, Fulham and Blackburn Rovers.

Also in international action
1998 - Future reds Nicolas Anelka, Markus Babbel, Stéphane Henchoz, Sami Hyypiä, Paul Jones, Jari Litmanen, Vladimír Šmicer and Abel Xavier all represented their countries in Euro 2000 qualifiers, with Anelka notching in France’s 3-2 win in Russia, and Vlad on target in the Czech Republic’s 3-1 defeat of Bosnia-Herzegovina in Sarajevo. Patrik Berger, Stig Inge Bjørnebye, Haukur Ingi Gudnason, Vegard Heggem, Michael Owen, Jamie Redknapp and ex-red Dean Saunders also turned out that night.
2006 – Alberto Aquilani played as Spain Under-21’s lost the second leg of their European Championships qualifying play-off 2-1 to Italy in Palencia. Meanwhile, Scott Carson and future red James Milner featured in England’s 2-0 defeat of Germany at the same stage in Leverkusen.
2008 – Milner played for England Under-21’s again as they beat future red Joe Allen’s Wales 3-2 in a European Championships Play-off in Cardiff. Meanwhile, future red Christian Benteke was dismissed for Belgium Under-21’s in their 2-2 friendly draw with Croatia in Genk.