# 1997–98 Liverpool F.C. season

The 1997–98 Liverpool F.C. season was the 106th season in the club's existence, and their 36th consecutive year in the top-flight of English football. In addition to the Premier League, the club also competed in the FA Cup, League Cup, and the UEFA Cup.

## Season summary

Liverpool's season saw them feature regularly in the title race, though in the end they just couldn't get the better of champions Arsenal and runners-up Manchester United. But the real success of the season was the emergence of 18-year-old striker Michael Owen. The Chester-born youngster had impressed in a handful of appearances during 1996–97, but his impact during 1997–98 was outstanding—18 goals from 36 Premier League games, especially after Robbie Fowler was ruled out for much of the campaign with a broken leg. In midfield, the arrival of Paul Ince sought to add steel to a side creatively centred on playmaker Steve McManaman, but the team were at the peak of their Spice Boys era, and underachieved in the end, eventually finishing in third place – meaning that Liverpool would be challenging in the UEFA Cup for 1998–99.

## Players
### First-team squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 1 | GK | ENG | David James |
| 2 | DF | ENG | Rob Jones |
| 3 | DF | NOR | Bjørn Tore Kvarme |
| 4 | DF | IRL | Jason McAteer |
| 5 | DF | ENG | Mark Wright |
| 6 | DF | IRL | Phil Babb |
| 7 | MF | ENG | Steve McManaman |
| 8 | MF | NOR | Oyvind Leonhardsen |
| 9 | FW | ENG | Robbie Fowler |
| 11 | MF | ENG | Jamie Redknapp |
| 12 | DF | ENG | Steve Harkness |
| 13 | FW | GER | Karl-Heinz Riedle |
| 14 | DF | ENG | Neil Ruddock |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 15 | MF | CZE | Patrik Berger |
| 16 | MF | ENG | Michael Thomas |
| 17 | MF | ENG | Paul Ince (captain) |
| 18 | FW | ENG | Michael Owen |
| 19 | DF | IRL | Mark Kennedy |
| 20 | DF | NOR | Stig Inge Bjørnebye |
| 21 | DF | ENG | Dominic Matteo |
| 22 | GK | ENG | Tony Warner |
| 23 | DF | ENG | Jamie Carragher |
| 24 | MF | ENG | Danny Murphy |
| 25 | MF | ENG | David Thompson |
| 29 | GK | USA | Brad Friedel |

### Reserve squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 26 | GK | DEN | Jørgen Nielsen |
| 27 | FW | SCO | Paul Dalglish |
| 28 | MF | AUS | Nicky Rizzo |
| 30 | MF | ISL | Haukur Ingi Guðnason |
| 31 | DF | WAL | Gareth Roberts |
| 32 | MF | WAL | Danny Williams |
| — | DF | ENG | Neil Murphy |
| — | DF | ENG | Stephen Wright |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| — | DF | WAL | Eifion Jones |
| — | DF | IRL | Paul O'Mara |
| — | MF | ENG | Jamie Cassidy |
| — | MF | ENG | Steven Gerrard |
| — | MF | ENG | Adriano Rigoglioso |
| — | MF | WAL | Leyton Maxwell |
| — | FW | ENG | Jon Newby |

## Statistics
### Appearances and goals

| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Total | Total | Premier League | Premier League | FA Cup | FA Cup | League Cup | League Cup | UEFA Cup | UEFA Cup |
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| Goalkeepers ||||||||||||||
| 1 | GK | ENG | David James | 37 | 0 | 27 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| 29 | GK | USA | Brad Friedel | 11 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Defenders ||||||||||||||
| 2 | DF | ENG | Rob Jones | 26 | 0 | 20+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 3 | DF | NOR | Bjørn Tore Kvarme | 30 | 0 | 22+1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| 5 | DF | ENG | Mark Wright | 7 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 6 | DF | IRL | Phil Babb | 20 | 0 | 18+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 12 | DF | ENG | Steve Harkness | 31 | 0 | 24+1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3+1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 14 | DF | ENG | Neil Ruddock | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 20 | DF | NOR | Stig Inge Bjørnebye | 32 | 0 | 24+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| 21 | DF | SCO | Dominic Matteo | 33 | 0 | 24+2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 23 | DF | ENG | Jamie Carragher | 23 | 0 | 17+3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Midfielders ||||||||||||||
| 4 | MF | IRL | Jason McAteer | 26 | 2 | 15+6 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 7 | MF | ENG | Steve McManaman | 46 | 12 | 36 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 1 |
| 8 | MF | NOR | Øyvind Leonhardsen | 36 | 6 | 27+1 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 3+2 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 11 | MF | ENG | Jamie Redknapp | 26 | 5 | 20 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 15 | MF | CZE | Patrik Berger | 28 | 4 | 6+16 | 3 | 0+1 | 0 | 2+1 | 1 | 1+1 | 0 |
| 16 | MF | ENG | Michael Thomas | 13 | 1 | 10+1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 17 | MF | ENG | Paul Ince | 40 | 8 | 31 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| 19 | MF | IRL | Mark Kennedy | 1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 24 | MF | ENG | Danny Murphy | 17 | 0 | 6+10 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 25 | MF | ENG | David Thompson | 5 | 1 | 1+4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Forwards ||||||||||||||
| 9 | FW | ENG | Robbie Fowler | 28 | 13 | 19+1 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 1 |
| 13 | FW | GER | Karl-Heinz Riedle | 34 | 7 | 18+7 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 2+3 | 0 | 1+2 | 1 |
| 18 | FW | ENG | Michael Owen | 44 | 23 | 34+2 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 3+1 | 1 |
| Players transferred out during the season ||||||||||||||
Last updated: 15 May 1998 Source: Competitions

### Goalscorers

| Rank | No. | Pos | Nat | Name | Premier League | FA Cup | League Cup | UEFA Cup | Total |
| 1 | 18 | FW | | Michael Owen | 18 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 23 |
| 2 | 9 | FW | | Robbie Fowler | 9 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 13 |
| 3 | 7 | MF | | Steve McManaman | 11 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 12 |
| 4 | 17 | MF | | Paul Ince | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| 5 | 13 | FW | | Karl-Heinz Riedle | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 |
| 6 | 8 | MF | | Øyvind Leonhardsen | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| 7 | 11 | MF | | Jamie Redknapp | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 |
| 8 | 15 | MF | | Patrick Berger | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 |
| 9 | 4 | MF | | Jason McAteer | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 10 | 16 | MF | | Michael Thomas | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 10 | 25 | MF | | David Thompson | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Totals | Totals | Totals | Totals | Totals | 68 | 1 | 9 | 4 | 82 |

### Competition top scorers

| Competition | Result | Top Scorer |
| Premier League | 3rd | Michael Owen, 18 |
| UEFA Cup | Second round | Robbie Fowler Steve McManaman Michael Owen Karl-Heinz Riedle, 1 |
| FA Cup | Third round | Jamie Redknapp, 1 |
| League Cup | Semi-finals | Michael Owen, 4 |
| Overall | | Michael Owen, 23 |

## Competitions
### Premier League
#### League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Arsenal (C) | 38 | 23 | 9 | 6 | 68 | 33 | +35 | 78 | Qualification for the Champions League group stage |
| 2 | Manchester United | 38 | 23 | 8 | 7 | 73 | 26 | +47 | 77 | Qualification for the Champions League second qualifying round |
| 3 | Liverpool | 38 | 18 | 11 | 9 | 68 | 42 | +26 | 65 | Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round |
| 4 | Chelsea | 38 | 20 | 3 | 15 | 71 | 43 | +28 | 63 | Qualification for the Cup Winners' Cup first round |
| 5 | Leeds United | 38 | 17 | 8 | 13 | 57 | 46 | +11 | 59 | Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round |
* ↑ McAteer was born in Tranmere, England, but also qualified to represent the Republic of Ireland internationally and made his international debut for the Republic of Ireland in March 1994.
* ↑ Babb was born in Lambeth, England, but also qualified to represent the Republic of Ireland internationally and made his international debut for the Republic of Ireland in 1994.
* ↑ Matteo was born in Dumfries, Scotland, but was raised in England from the age of four and represented them at U-21 and B level before making his international debut for Scotland in November 2000.
* ↑ Warner was born in Liverpool, England, but also qualified to represent Trinidad and Tobago internationally and would make his international debut for Trinidad and Tobago in February 2006.
* ↑ Chelsea qualified for the Cup Winners' Cup as defending champions. As they were also the League Cup winners, the UEFA Cup berth vacated was awarded to Blackburn Rovers.
* ↑ Aston Villa was rewarded entry to the UEFA Cup through UEFA Fair Play ranking.

#### Results by round

| Round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 |
| Ground | A | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | H | A | H | H | H | A | H | A | H | A | A | A | H | A | A | H | H | A |
| Result | D | L | D | W | W | D | W | L | W | L | W | D | W | L | W | L | W | W | W | W | W | D | W | D | L | D | D | L | W | D | W | D | W | D | L | W | W | L |
| Position | 11 | 14 | 16 | 12 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |