# 1971–72 Liverpool F.C. season

The 1971–72 season was Liverpool Football Club's 80th season in existence and their tenth consecutive season in the First Division. Liverpool fought for the league title for the first time in three years, finishing third, just one point behind champions Derby. Liverpool's second attempt at the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup ended in disappointment following an autumn defeat to Bayern Munich. The season saw the breakthrough of youngster Kevin Keegan. The attacking midfielder played an integral part in the team, assisting several goals and scoring nine himself, after moving to the striker position.
Another player who had come through the youth system and made his debut as a substitute for John Toshack against Manchester United on Easter Monday was Phil Thompson who would become an integral part of the team for the rest of the decade.

## Squad
### Goalkeepers

* Ray Clemence
* Tommy Lawrence

### Defenders

* Roy Evans
* Chris Lawler
* Alec Lindsay
* Larry Lloyd
* John McLaughlin
* Ian Ross
* Tommy Smith

### Midfielders

* Steve Arnold
* Ian Callaghan
* Brian Hall
* Steve Heighway
* Emlyn Hughes
* Ian St. John
* Phil Thompson
* Peter Thompson

### Attackers

* Phil Boersma
* Alun Evans
* Bobby Graham
* Kevin Keegan
* John Toshack
* Jack Whitham

## Squad statistics
### Appearances and goals

| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Total | Total | Division 1 | Division 1 | FA Cup | FA Cup | Charity Sheild | Charity Sheild | League Cup | League Cup | European CWC | European CWC |
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| | FW | ENG | Phil Boersma | 7 | 0 | 3+3 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| | MF | ENG | Ian Callaghan | 52 | 2 | 41+0 | 2 | 3+0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 3+0 | 0 | 4+0 | 0 |
| | GK | ENG | Ray Clemence | 53 | 0 | 42+0 | 0 | 3+0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 3+0 | 0 | 4+0 | 0 |
| | FW | ENG | Alun Evans | 13 | 2 | 6+0 | 1 | 1+0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 2+0 | 0 | 2+1 | 1 |
| | FW | SCO | Bobby Graham | 20 | 3 | 10+1 | 2 | 1+1 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 2+1 | 1 | 3+0 | 0 |
| | MF | SCO | Brian Hall | 33 | 2 | 24+2 | 1 | 1+0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 2+0 | 1 | 3+0 | 0 |
| | MF | IRL | Steve Heighway | 50 | 8 | 40+0 | 5 | 2+0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 3+0 | 2 | 4+0 | 1 |
| | DF | ENG | Emlyn Hughes | 53 | 9 | 42+0 | 8 | 3+0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 3+0 | 0 | 4+0 | 1 |
| | FW | ENG | Kevin Keegan | 42 | 11 | 35+0 | 9 | 3+0 | 2 | 0+0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 3+0 | 0 |
| | DF | ENG | Chris Lawler | 53 | 8 | 42+0 | 6 | 3+0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 3+0 | 1 | 4+0 | 1 |
| | DF | ENG | Alec Lindsay | 45 | 1 | 38+0 | 0 | 3+0 | 1 | 1+0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 2+0 | 0 |
| | DF | ENG | Larry Lloyd | 43 | 1 | 33+0 | 1 | 2+0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 3+0 | 0 | 4+0 | 0 |
| | MF | ENG | John McLaughlin | 6 | 0 | 3+2 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| | DF | SCO | Ian Ross | 31 | 1 | 20+1 | 1 | 3+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 3+0 | 0 | 3+1 | 0 |
| | DF | ENG | Tommy Smith | 45 | 6 | 37+0 | 6 | 3+0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 3+0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 |
| | MF | ENG | Peter Thompson | 15 | 0 | 9+1 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 0+2 | 0 |
| | DF | ENG | Phil Thompson | 1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| | FW | WAL | John Toshack | 34 | 13 | 28+1 | 13 | 1+0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 |
| | FW | ENG | Jack Whitham | 9 | 6 | 9+0 | 6 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |

## League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GAv | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Derby County (C) | 42 | 24 | 10 | 8 | 69 | 33 | 2.091 | 58 | Qualification for the European Cup first round |
| 2 | Leeds United | 42 | 24 | 9 | 9 | 73 | 31 | 2.355 | 57 | Qualification for the European Cup Winners' Cup first round |
| 3 | Liverpool | 42 | 24 | 9 | 9 | 64 | 30 | 2.133 | 57 | Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round |
| 4 | Manchester City | 42 | 23 | 11 | 8 | 77 | 45 | 1.711 | 57 | Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round |
| 5 | Arsenal | 42 | 22 | 8 | 12 | 58 | 40 | 1.450 | 52 | |
* ↑ Leeds United qualified for the European Cup Winners' Cup as the 1971-72 FA Cup winners.

## Results
### First Division

| Date | Opponents | Venue | Result | Scorers | Attendance | Report 1 | Report 2 |
| 14-Aug-71 | Nottingham Forest | H | 3–1 | Keegan 12' Smith 15 Pen' Hughes 55' | 51,427 | Report | Report |
| 17-Aug-71 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | H | 3–2 | Toshack 7' Smith 89 Pen' | 51,869 | Report | Report |
| 21-Aug-71 | Newcastle United | A | 2–3 | Hughes 10' Keegan 75' | 39,720 | Report | Report |
| 24-Aug-71 | Crystal Palace | A | 1–0 | Toshack 57' | 29,489 | Report | Report |
| 28-Aug-71 | Leicester City | H | 3–2 | Heighway 25' Keegan 35' Toshack 71' | 50,970 | Report | Report |
| 01-Sep-71 | Manchester City | A | 0–1 | | 45,144 | Report | Report |
| 04-Sep-71 | Tottenham Hotspur | A | 0–2 | | 50,124 | Report | Report |
| 11-Sep-71 | Southampton | H | 1–0 | Toshack 32' | 45,878 | Report | Report |
| 18-Sep-71 | Leeds United | A | 0–1 | | 41,381 | Report | Report |
| 25-Sep-71 | Manchester United | H | 2–2 | Graham 7' Hall 24' | 55,634 | Report | Report |
| 02-Oct-71 | Stoke City | A | 0–0 | | 28,698 | Report | Report |
| 09-Oct-71 | Chelsea | H | 0–0 | | 48,464 | Report | Report |
| 16-Oct-71 | Nottingham Forest | A | 3–2 | Hughes 5' Heighway 65' Smith 78 Pen' | 20,945 | Report | Report |
| 23-Oct-71 | Huddersfield Town | H | 2–0 | Smith 57' A. Evans 80' | 41,627 | Report | Report |
| 30-Oct-71 | Sheffield United | A | 1–1 | Keegan 47' | 39,023 | Report | Report |
| 06-Nov-71 | Arsenal | H | 3–2 | Hughes 41' Callaghan 55' Ross 80' | 46,929 | Report | Report |
| 13-Nov-71 | Everton | A | 0–1 | | 56,563 | Report | Report |
| 20-Nov-71 | Coventry City | A | 2–0 | Whitham 80', 89' | 25,325 | Report | Report |
| 27-Nov-71 | West Ham United | H | 1–0 | Hughes 69' | 43,399 | Report | Report |
| 04-Dec-71 | Ipswich Town | A | 0–0 | | 21,359 | Report | Report |
| 11-Dec-71 | Derby County | H | 3–2 | Whitham 14', 44', 53' | 44,601 | Report | Report |
| 18-Dec-71 | Tottenham Hotspur | H | 0–0 | | 43,409 | Report | Report |
| 27-Dec-71 | West Bromwich Albion | A | 0–1 | | 43,904 | Report | Report |
| 01-Jan-72 | Leeds United | H | 0–2 | | 53,847 | Report | Report |
| 08-Jan-72 | Leicester City | A | 0–1 | | 26,421 | Report | Report |
| 22-Jan-72 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | A | 0–0 | | 33,692 | Report | Report |
| 29-Jan-72 | Crystal Palace | H | 4–1 | Lawler 38', 66' Callaghan 72' Keegan 82' | 39,538 | Report | Report |
| 12-Feb-72 | Huddersfield Town | A | 1–0 | Whitham 73' | 18,702 | Report | Report |
| 19-Feb-72 | Sheffield United | H | 2–0 | Toshack 42', 82' | 42,005 | Report | Report |
| 26-Feb-72 | Manchester City | H | 3–0 | Lloyd 37' Keegan 53' Graham 65' | 50,074 | Report | Report |
| 04-Mar-72 | Everton | H | 4–0 | Own Goal 1' Own Goal 66' Lawler 74' Hughes 87' | 53,922 | Report | Report |
| 11-Mar-72 | Chelsea | A | 0–0 | | 38,691 | Report | Report |
| 18-Mar-72 | Newcastle United | H | 5–0 | Lawler 9' Keegan 22' Toshack 39' Hughes 63' Heighway 81' | 43,899 | Report | Report |
| 25-Mar-72 | Southampton | A | 1–0 | Toshack 52' | 21,680 | Report | Report |
| 28-Mar-72 | Stoke City | H | 2–1 | Own Goal 40' Keegan 53' | 42,489 | Report | Report |
| 01-Apr-72 | West Bromwich Albion | H | 2–0 | Smith 31 Pen' Lawler 58' | 46,564 | Report | Report |
| 03-Apr-72 | Manchester United | A | 3–0 | Lawler 60' Toshack 62' Hughes 84' | 54,000 | Report | Report |
| 08-Apr-72 | Coventry City | H | 3–1 | Keegan 21' Smith 67 Pen' Toshack 85' | 50,628 | Report | Report |
| 15-Apr-72 | West Ham United | A | 2–0 | Toshack 9' Heighway 46' | 32,660 | Report | Report |
| 22-Apr-72 | Ipswich Town | H | 2–0 | Toshack 39', 66' | 54,316 | Report | Report |
| 01-May-72 | Derby County | A | 0–1 | | 39,420 | Report | Report |
| 08-May-72 | Arsenal | A | 0–0 | | 39,289 | Report | Report |

### Football League Cup

| Date | Opponents | Venue | Result | Scorers | Attendance | Report 1 | Report 2 |
| 07-Sep-71 | Hull City | A | 3–0 | Lawler 34' Heighway 38' Hall 53 Pen' | 31,612 | Report | Report |
| 05-Oct-71 | Southampton | H | 1–0 | Heighway 50' | 29,964 | Report | Report |
| 27-Oct-71 | West Ham United | A | 1–2 | Graham 30' | 40,878 | Report | Report |

### FA Cup

| Date | Opponents | Venue | Result | Scorers | Attendance | Report 1 | Report 2 |
| 15-Jan-72 | Oxford United | H | 3–0 | Keegan 47', 81' Lindsay 84' | 56,124 | Report | Report |
| 05-Feb-72 | Leeds United | H | 0–0 | | 56,296 | Report | Report |
| 09-Feb-72 | Leeds United | A | 0–2 | | 49,572 | Report | Report |

### European Cup Winners Cup

| Date | Opponents | Venue | Result | Scorers | Attendance | Report 1 | Report 2 |
| 15-Sep-71 | Servette FC | A | 1–2 | Lawler 81' | 21,000 | Report | Report |
| 29-Sep-71 | Servette FC | H | 2–0 | Hughes 27' Heighway 60' | 38,591 | Report | Report |
| 20-Oct-71 | Bayern Munich | H | 0–0 | | 42,949 | Report | Report |
| 03-Nov-71 | Bayern Munich | A | 1–3 | A. Evans 37' | 40,000 | Report | Report |