# 1981–82 Liverpool F.C. season

The 1981–82 season was Liverpool Football Club's 90th season in existence and their 20th consecutive season in the First Division. After finishing fifth the previous season, Liverpool came back and won their thirteenth league title. They also won the Football League Cup for the second successive season, beating Tottenham Hotspur 3-1 at Wembley Stadium.
However, Liverpool were decisively beaten by Flamengo at the 1981 Intercontinental Cup final. Neither did they regain the European Cup, having been knocked out by CSKA Sofia in the quarter-finals and surprisingly being knocked out by Second Division Chelsea in the fifth round of the FA Cup.
It was also a season with major changes in the team, as many of the players who won the trophies over the previous seasons were being replaced by players who would go on to be part of the team that remained successful for the rest of the decade. Players such as Bruce Grobbelaar, Mark Lawrenson, Ian Rush, Ronnie Whelan and Craig Johnston came into the team during the season and would make their mark on changing the side, that would go forward into the decade.

## Squad
### Goalkeepers

* Steve Ogrizovic
* Bruce Grobbelaar

### Defenders

* Phil Neal
* Alan Hansen
* Phil Thompson
* Alan Kennedy
* Richard Money
* Mark Lawrenson

### Midfielders

* Craig Johnston
* Sammy Lee
* Ray Kennedy
* Terry McDermott
* Kevin Sheedy
* Graeme Souness
* Ronnie Whelan
* Steve Nicol

### Attackers

* David Fairclough
* Kenny Dalglish
* Howard Gayle
* David Johnson
* Ian Rush

## Squad statistics
### Appearances and goals

| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Total | Total | Division 1 | Division 1 | FA Cup | FA Cup | League Cup | League Cup | European Cup | European Cup | World Club Champ. | World Club Champ. |
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| | FW | SCO | Kenny Dalglish | 62 | 22 | 42+0 | 13 | 3+0 | 2 | 10+0 | 5 | 6+0 | 2 | 1+0 | 0 |
| | GK | ZIM | Bruce Grobbelaar | 62 | 0 | 42+0 | 0 | 3+0 | 0 | 10+0 | 0 | 6+0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 |
| | DF | SCO | Alan Hansen | 52 | 2 | 35+0 | 0 | 3+0 | 1 | 8+0 | 0 | 5+0 | 1 | 1+0 | 0 |
| | FW | ENG | David Johnson | 25 | 7 | 10+5 | 2 | 0+1 | 0 | 1+3 | 3 | 3+1 | 2 | 0+1 | 0 |
| | MF | AUS | Craig Johnston | 23 | 7 | 13+5 | 6 | 0+1 | 0 | 0+2 | 1 | 0+1 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 |
| | DF | ENG | Alan Kennedy | 47 | 3 | 32+2 | 3 | 3+0 | 0 | 6+0 | 0 | 4+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| | MF | ENG | Ray Kennedy | 23 | 3 | 15+0 | 2 | 0+0 | 0 | 3+0 | 0 | 4+0 | 1 | 1+0 | 0 |
| | DF | ENG | Mark Lawrenson | 59 | 4 | 37+2 | 2 | 3+0 | 1 | 10+0 | 0 | 5+1 | 1 | 1+0 | 0 |
| | MF | ENG | Sammy Lee | 49 | 4 | 35+0 | 3 | 2+0 | 0 | 6+0 | 0 | 5+0 | 1 | 1+0 | 0 |
| | MF | ENG | Terry McDermott | 48 | 20 | 28+1 | 14 | 3+0 | 0 | 10+0 | 3 | 5+0 | 3 | 1+0 | 0 |
| | DF | ENG | Phil Neal | 62 | 3 | 42+0 | 2 | 3+0 | 0 | 10+0 | 1 | 6+0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 |
| | FW | WAL | Ian Rush | 49 | 30 | 32+0 | 17 | 3+0 | 3 | 10+0 | 8 | 3+1 | 2 | 0+0 | 0 |
| | MF | IRL | Kevin Sheedy | 4 | 2 | 0+2 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 2+0 | 2 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| | MF | SCO | Graeme Souness | 54 | 6 | 34+1 | 5 | 3+0 | 0 | 9+0 | 1 | 6+0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 |
| | DF | ENG | Phil Thompson | 48 | 0 | 34+0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 7+0 | 0 | 5+0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 |
| | MF | IRL | Ronnie Whelan | 47 | 14 | 31+1 | 10 | 3+0 | 0 | 8+0 | 3 | 3+1 | 1 | 0+0 | 0 |

## League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Liverpool (C) | 42 | 26 | 9 | 7 | 80 | 32 | +48 | 87 | Qualification for the European Cup first round |
| 2 | Ipswich Town | 42 | 26 | 5 | 11 | 75 | 53 | +22 | 83 | Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round |
| 3 | Manchester United | 42 | 22 | 12 | 8 | 59 | 29 | +30 | 78 | Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round |
| 4 | Tottenham Hotspur | 42 | 20 | 11 | 11 | 67 | 48 | +19 | 71 | Qualification for the Cup Winners' Cup first round |
| 5 | Arsenal | 42 | 20 | 11 | 11 | 48 | 37 | +11 | 71 | Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round |
* ↑ Tottenham Hotspur qualified for the European Cup Winners' Cup first round as the 1981–82 FA Cup winners.

## Results
### First Division

| Date | Opponents | Venue | Result | Scorers | Attendance | Report 1 | Report 2 |
| 29-Aug-81 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | A | 0–1 | | 28,001 | Report | Report |
| 01-Sep-81 | Middlesbrough | H | 1–1 | Neal 53 Pen' | 31,963 | Report | Report |
| 05-Sep-81 | Arsenal | H | 2–0 | McDermott 44' Johnson 89' | 35,269 | Report | Report |
| 12-Sep-81 | Ipswich Town | A | 0–2 | | 26,703 | Report | Report |
| 19-Sep-81 | Aston Villa | H | 0–0 | | 37,474 | Report | Report |
| 22-Sep-81 | Coventry City | A | 2–1 | A Kennedy 2' McDermott 26 Pen' | 16,731 | Report | Report |
| 26-Sep-81 | West Ham United | A | 1–1 | Johnson 77' | 30,802 | Report | Report |
| 03-Oct-81 | Swansea City | H | 2–2 | McDermott 59 Pen', 64 Pen' | 48,645 | Report | Report |
| 10-Oct-81 | Leeds United | H | 3–0 | Rush 17', 89' Own Goal 26' | 35,840 | Report | Report |
| 17-Oct-81 | Brighton & Hove Albion | A | 3–3 | Dalglish 12' R Kennedy 39' McDermott 73' | 26,321 | Report | Report |
| 24-Oct-81 | Manchester United | H | 1–2 | McDermott 74 Pen' | 41,438 | Report | Report |
| 31-Oct-81 | Sunderland | A | 2–0 | Souness 61' McDermott 77' | 27,854 | Report | Report |
| 07-Nov-81 | Everton | H | 3–1 | Dalglish 47', 52' Rush 75' | 48,861 | Report | Report |
| 21-Nov-81 | West Bromwich Albion | A | 1–1 | Dalglish 90' | 20,871 | Report | Report |
| 28-Nov-81 | Southampton | H | 0–1 | | 37,189 | Report | Report |
| 05-Dec-81 | Nottingham Forest | A | 2–0 | Lawrenson 57' R Kennedy 59' | 24,521 | Report | Report |
| 26-Dec-81 | Manchester City | H | 1–3 | Whelan 85' | 37,929 | Report | Report |
| 05-Jan-82 | West Ham United | H | 3–0 | McDermott 25' Whelan 27' Dalglish 68' | 28,427 | Report | Report |
| 16-Jan-82 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | H | 2–1 | Whelan 74' Dalglish 82' | 26,438 | Report | Report |
| 26-Jan-82 | Notts County | A | 4–0 | Whelan 44' Rush 67', 75', 84' | 14,407 | Report | Report |
| 30-Jan-82 | Aston Villa | A | 3–0 | Rush 3' McDermott 23', 73' | 35,947 | Report | Report |
| 06-Feb-82 | Ipswich Town | H | 4–0 | McDermott 14' Rush 17' Dalglish 44' Whelan 57' | 41,316 | Report | Report |
| 16-Feb-82 | Swansea City | A | 0–2 | | 22,604 | Report | Report |
| 20-Feb-82 | Coventry City | H | 4–0 | Souness 5' Lee 13' Rush 34' McDermott 64 Pen' | 28,286 | Report | Report |
| 27-Feb-82 | Leeds United | A | 2–0 | Souness 40' Rush 76' | 33,689 | Report | Report |
| 06-Mar-82 | Brighton & Hove Albion | H | 0–1 | | 28,574 | Report | Report |
| 09-Mar-82 | Stoke City | A | 5–1 | McDermott 15' Dalglish 29' Souness 48' Lee 80' Whelan 87' | 16,758 | Report | Report |
| 20-Mar-82 | Sunderland | H | 1–0 | Rush 14' | 30,344 | Report | Report |
| 27-Mar-82 | Everton | A | 3–1 | Whelan 21' Souness 57' Johnston 81' | 51,847 | Report | Report |
| 30-Mar-82 | Birmingham City | H | 3–1 | Rush 10', 74' McDermott 78' | 24,224 | Report | Report |
| 02-Apr-82 | Notts County | H | 1–0 | Dalglish 61' | 30,126 | Report | Report |
| 07-Apr-82 | Manchester United | A | 1–0 | Johnston 63' | 50,969 | Report | Report |
| 10-Apr-82 | Manchester City | A | 5–0 | Lee 8' Neal 42 Pen' Johnston 58' A Kennedy 59' Rush 73' | 40,112 | Report | Report |
| 13-Apr-82 | Stoke City | H | 2–0 | A Kennedy 4' Johnston 34' | 30,419 | Report | Report |
| 17-Apr-82 | West Bromwich Albion | H | 1–0 | Dalglish 71' | 34,286 | Report | Report |
| 24-Apr-82 | Southampton | A | 3–2 | Rush 12' Whelan 57', 88' | 24,704 | Report | Report |
| 01-May-82 | Nottingham Forest | H | 2–0 | Johnston 55', 68' | 34,321 | Report | Report |
| 03-May-82 | Tottenham Hotspur | A | 2–2 | Dalglish 50', 61' | 38,091 | Report | Report |
| 08-May-82 | Birmingham City | A | 1–0 | Rush 49' | 26,381 | Report | Report |
| 11-May-82 | Arsenal | A | 1–1 | Rush 31' | 30,932 | Report | Report |
| 15-May-82 | Tottenham Hotspur | H | 3–1 | Lawrenson 51' Dalglish 55' Whelan 87' | 48,122 | Report | Report |
| 18-May-82 | Middlesbrough | A | 0–0 | | 17,431 | Report | Report |

### FA Cup

| Date | Opponents | Venue | Result | Scorers | Attendance | Report 1 | Report 2 |
| 02-Jan-82 | Swansea City | A | 4–0 | Hansen 35' Rush 45', 88' Lawrenson 73' | 24,179 | Report | Report |
| 23-Jan-82 | Sunderland | A | 3–0 | Dalglish 6', 15' Rush 79' | 28,582 | Report | Report |
| 13-Feb-82 | Chelsea | A | 0–2 | | 41,42 | Report | Report |

### Football League Cup

| Date | Opponents | Venue | Result | Scorers | Attendance | Report 1 | Report 2 |
| 07-Oct-81 | Exeter City | H | 5–0 | Rush 15', 67' McDermott 27' Dalglish 37' Whelan 68' | 11,478 | Report | Report |
| 28-Oct-81 | Exeter City | A | 6–0 | Rush 15', 89' Dalglish 23' Neal 44' Sheedy 53' Own Goal 80' | 11,740 | Report | Report |
| 10-Nov-81 | Middlesbrough | H | 4–1 | Sheedy 29' Rush 64' Johnson 74', 80' | 16,145 | Report | Report |
| 01-Dec-81 | Arsenal | A | 0–0 | | 37,917 | Report | Report |
| 08-Dec-81 | Arsenal | H | 3–0 | Johnston 95' McDermott 101 Pen' Dalglish 108' | 21,375 | Report | Report |
| 12-Jan-82 | Barnsley | H | 0–0 | | 33,707 | Report | Report |
| 19-Jan-82 | Barnsley | A | 3–1 | Souness 37' Johnson 81' Dalglish 89' | 29,639 | Report | Report |
| 02-Feb-82 | Ipswich Town | A | 2–0 | McDermott 47' Rush 49' | 26,690 | Report | Report |
| 09-Feb-82 | Ipswich Town | H | 2–2 | Rush 26' Dalglish 47' | 34,933 | Report | Report |

#### League Cup Final

| Liverpool | Tottenham Hotspur |
Bruce Grobbelaar :
| RB | 2 | Phil Neal |
| LB | 3 | Alan Kennedy |
| CB | 4 | Phil Thompson |
| LM | 5 | Ronnie Whelan |
| CB | 6 | Mark Lawrenson |
| CF | 7 | Kenny Dalglish |
| RM | 8 | Sammy Lee |
| CF | 9 | Ian Rush |
| CM | 10 | Terry McDermott |
| CM | 11 | Graeme Souness (c) |
| Substitute: ||||
| | 12 | David Johnson |
| Manager: ||||
| Bob Paisley ||||
Ray Clemence :
| LB | 2 | Chris Hughton |
| CB | 3 | Paul Miller |
| CB | 4 | Paul Price |
| RM | 5 | Micky Hazard |
| RB | 6 | Steve Perryman (c) |
| CM | 7 | Osvaldo Ardiles |
| CF | 8 | Steve Archibald |
| LM | 9 | Tony Galvin |
| CM | 10 | Glenn Hoddle |
| CF | 11 | Garth Crooks |
| Substitute: ||||
| MF | 12 | Ricardo Villa |
| Manager: ||||
| Keith Burkinshaw ||||

### European Cup

| Date | Opponents | Venue | Result | Scorers | Attendance | Report 1 | Report 2 |
| 16-Sep-81 | Oulu Palloseura | A | 1–0 | Dalglish 84' | 8,400 | Report | Report |
| 30-Sep-81 | Oulu Palloseura | H | 7–0 | Dalglish 26' McDermott 40', 75' R Kennedy 46' Johnson 60' Rush 67' Lawrenson 72' | 20,789 | Report | Report |
| 21-Oct-81 | AZ Alkmaar | A | 2–2 | Johnson 26' Lee 49' | 15,000 | Report | Report |
| 04-Nov-81 | AZ Alkmaar | H | 3–2 | McDermott 42 Pen' Rush 68' Hansen 85' | 29,703 | Report | Report |
| 03-Mar-82 | CSKA Sofia | H | 1–0 | Whelan 65' | 27,388 | Report | Report |
| 17-Mar-82 | CSKA Sofia | A | 0–2 | | 60,000 | Report | Report |

### Intercontinental Cup

| Liverpool | Flamengo |
Bruce Grobbelaar :
| RB | 2 | Phil Neal |
| CB | 4 | Phil Thompson (c) |
| CB | 6 | Alan Hansen |
| LB | 3 | Mark Lawrenson |
| RM | 14 | Sammy Lee |
| CM | 10 | Terry McDermott | 51' |
| CM | 11 | Graeme Souness |
| LM | 5 | Ray Kennedy |
| SS | 7 | Kenny Dalglish |
| CF | 16 | Craig Johnston |
| Substitutes: |||
| GK | 13 | Steve Ogrizovic |
| DF | 15 | Alan Kennedy |
| MF | 17 | Kevin Sheedy |
| MF | 8 | Ronnie Whelan |
| FW | 12 | David Johnson | 51' |
| Manager: |||
| Bob Paisley ||||
Raul :
| RB | 2 | Leandro |
| CB | 13 | Marinho |
| CB | 4 | Mozer |
| LB | 5 | Júnior |
| DM | 6 | Andrade |
| MF | 8 | Adílio |
| AM | 10 | Zico (c) |
| FW | 7 | Tita |
| CF | 9 | Nunes |
| FW | 11 | Lico |
| Substitutes: |||
| GK | 12 | Cantarele |
| DF | 3 | Figueiredo |
| FW | 15 | Peu |
| FW | 16 | Baroninho |
| DF | 17 | Nei Dias |
| Manager: |||
| Paulo Carpegiani ||||