# 1978–79 Liverpool F.C. season

The 1978–79 season was Liverpool Football Club's 87th season in existence and their 17th consecutive season in the First Division. Liverpool won its 11th league title with a record-breaking season. They amassed a record points total of 68, with Kenny Dalglish and Graeme Souness as commanding influences in the team that had the highest goal scoring ratio under Bob Paisley's management. Defensively, Liverpool conceded only 16 goals (just four of them at Anfield) and goalkeeper Ray Clemence kept a total of 28 clean sheets in 42 League matches. Disappointing for Liverpool was the early exit of the European Cup, losing to domestic rivals Nottingham Forest in the inaugural round; Forest went on to win the European Cup along with the League Cup, and were proving to be Liverpool's most fierce competitors as the decade drew to a close. This ended Liverpool's chances of taking three European Cups in a row, an achievement only Real Madrid, Ajax and Bayern Munich have ever succeeded in doing.

## Squad
### Goalkeepers

* Ray Clemence
* Steve Ogrizovic

### Defenders

* Emlyn Hughes
* Joey Jones
* Brian Kettle
* Colin Irwin
* Phil Neal
* Alan Hansen
* Phil Thompson
* Alan Kennedy

### Midfielders

* Ian Callaghan
* Jimmy Case
* Steve Heighway
* Sammy Lee
* Ray Kennedy
* Terry McDermott
* Kevin Sheedy
* Graeme Souness

### Attackers

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

## 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 | European Super Cup | European Super Cup |
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| | MF | ENG | Jimmy Case | 48 | 9 | 37+0 | 7 | 5+1 | 1 | 1+0 | 0 | 2+0 | 0 | 2+0 | 1 |
| | GK | ENG | Ray Clemence | 53 | 0 | 42+0 | 0 | 7+0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 2+0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 |
| | FW | SCO | Kenny Dalglish | 54 | 25 | 42+0 | 21 | 7+0 | 4 | 1+0 | 0 | 2+0 | 0 | 2+0 | 0 |
| | FW | ENG | David Fairclough | 10 | 3 | 3+1 | 2 | 3+0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 1+0 | 1 |
| | DF | SCO | Alan Hansen | 42 | 2 | 34+0 | 1 | 6+0 | 1 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 2+0 | 0 |
| | MF | IRL | Steve Heighway | 37 | 4 | 26+2 | 4 | 2+3 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 2+0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| | DF | ENG | Emlyn Hughes | 28 | 1 | 16+0 | 0 | 7+0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 2+0 | 0 | 2+0 | 1 |
| | FW | ENG | David Johnson | 37 | 18 | 26+4 | 16 | 4+0 | 2 | 0+1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 |
| | DF | ENG | Alan Kennedy | 43 | 3 | 37+0 | 3 | 2+0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 2+0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 |
| | MF | ENG | Ray Kennedy | 54 | 11 | 42+0 | 10 | 7+0 | 1 | 1+0 | 0 | 2+0 | 0 | 2+0 | 0 |
| | MF | ENG | Sammy Lee | 2 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| | MF | ENG | Terry McDermott | 49 | 8 | 34+3 | 8 | 7+0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 2+0 | 0 | 2+0 | 0 |
| | DF | ENG | Phil Neal | 54 | 5 | 42+0 | 5 | 7+0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 2+0 | 0 | 2+0 | 0 |
| | GK | ENG | Steve Ogrizovic | 1 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 |
| | MF | SCO | Graeme Souness | 53 | 9 | 41+0 | 8 | 7+0 | 1 | 1+0 | 0 | 2+0 | 0 | 2+0 | 0 |
| | DF | ENG | Phil Thompson | 49 | 0 | 39+0 | 0 | 6+0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 2+0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 |

## League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Liverpool (C) | 42 | 30 | 8 | 4 | 85 | 16 | +69 | 68 | Qualification for the European Cup first round |
| 2 | Nottingham Forest | 42 | 21 | 18 | 3 | 61 | 26 | +35 | 60 | Qualification for the European Cup first round |
| 3 | West Bromwich Albion | 42 | 24 | 11 | 7 | 72 | 35 | +37 | 59 | Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round |
| 4 | Everton | 42 | 17 | 17 | 8 | 52 | 40 | +12 | 51 | Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round |
| 5 | Leeds United | 42 | 18 | 14 | 10 | 70 | 52 | +18 | 50 | Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round |
* ↑ Nottingham Forest qualified for the European Cup first round as the 1978–79 European Cup winners.

## Results
### First Division

| Date | Opponents | Venue | Result | Scorers | Attendance | Report 1 | Report 2 |
| 19 August 1978 | Queens Park Rangers | H | 2–1 | Dalglish 27' Heighway 76' | 50,793 | Report | Report |
| 22 August 1978 | Ipswich Town | A | 3–0 | Souness 17' Dalglish 22', 74' | 28,114 | Report | Report |
| 26 August 1978 | Manchester City | A | 4–1 | Souness 15', 48' R Kennedy 34' Dalglish 56' | 46,710 | Report | Report |
| 2 September 1978 | Tottenham Hotspur | H | 7–0 | Dalglish 8', 20' R Kennedy 28' Johnson 48', 58' Neal 64' (Pen) McDermott 76' | 50,705 | Report | Report |
| 9 September 1978 | Birmingham City | A | 3–0 | Souness 12', 57' A Kennedy 81' | 31,740 | Report | Report |
| 16 September 1978 | Coventry City | H | 1–0 | Souness 27' | 51,130 | Report | Report |
| 23 September 1978 | West Bromwich Albion | A | 1–1 | Dalglish 70' | 33,834 | Report | Report |
| 30 September 1978 | Bolton Wanderers | H | 3–0 | Case 13', 39', 55' | 47,099 | Report | Report |
| 7 October 1978 | Norwich City | A | 4–1 | Heighway 6', 10' Johnson 36' Case 49' | 25,632 | Report | Report |
| 14 October 1978 | Derby County | H | 5–0 | Johnson 29' R Kennedy 55', 78' Dalglish 61', 80' | 47,475 | Report | Report |
| 21 October 1978 | Chelsea | H | 2–0 | Johnson 6' Dalglish 71' | 45,775 | Report | Report |
| 28 October 1978 | Everton | A | 0–1 | | 53,131 | Report | Report |
| 4 November 1978 | Leeds United | H | 1–1 | McDermott 81' (Pen) | 51,657 | Report | Report |
| 11 November 1978 | Queens Park Rangers | A | 3–1 | Heighway 29' R Kennedy 45' Johnson 85' | 26,626 | Report | Report |
| 18 November 1978 | Manchester City | H | 1–0 | Neal 86' (Pen) | 47,765 | Report | Report |
| 22 November 1978 | Tottenham Hotspur | A | 0–0 | | 50,393 | Report | Report |
| 25 November 1978 | Middlesbrough | H | 2–0 | McDermott 30' Souness 69' | 39,812 | Report | Report |
| 2 December 1978 | Arsenal | A | 0–1 | | 51,902 | Report | Report |
| 9 December 1978 | Nottingham Forest | H | 2–0 | McDermott 29 Pen', 48' | 51,469 | Report | Report |
| 16 December 1978 | Bristol City | A | 0–1 | | 28,722 | Report | Report |
| 26 December 1978 | Manchester United | A | 3–0 | R Kennedy 5' Case 25' Fairclough 67' | 54,940 | Report | Report |
| 3 February 1979 | West Bromwich Albion | H | 2–1 | Dalglish 21' Fairclough 53' | 52,211 | Report | Report |
| 13 February 1979 | Birmingham City | H | 1–0 | Souness 37' | 35,207 | Report | Report |
| 21 February 1979 | Norwich City | H | 6–0 | Dalglish 3', 48' Johnson 46', 51' A Kennedy 80' R Kennedy 90' | 35,754 | Report | Report |
| 24 February 1979 | Derby County | A | 2–0 | Dalglish 11' R Kennedy 70' | 27,859 | Report | Report |
| 3 March 1979 | Chelsea | A | 0–0 | | 40,594 | Report | Report |
| 6 March 1979 | Coventry City | A | 0–0 | | 26,629 | Report | Report |
| 13 March 1979 | Everton | H | 1–1 | Dalglish 15' | 52,352 | Report | Report |
| 20 March 1979 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | H | 2–0 | McDermott 34' Johnson 48' | 39,695 | Report | Report |
| 24 March 1979 | Ipswich Town | H | 2–0 | Dalglish 41' Johnson 81' | 43,243 | Report | Report |
| 7 April 1979 | Arsenal | H | 3–0 | Case 49' Dalglish 73' McDermott 88' | 47,297 | Report | Report |
| 10 April 1979 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | A | 1–0 | Hansen 33' | 30,857 | Report | Report |
| 14 April 1979 | Manchester United | H | 2–0 | Dalglish 36' Neal 46' | 46,608 | Report | Report |
| 16 April 1979 | Aston Villa | A | 1–3 | Johnson 65' | 44,029 | Report | Report |
| 21 April 1979 | Bristol City | H | 1–0 | Dalglish 5' | 43,191 | Report | Report |
| 24 April 1979 | Southampton | A | 1–1 | Johnson 12' | 23,181 | Report | Report |
| 28 April 1979 | Nottingham Forest | A | 0–0 | | 41,898 | Report | Report |
| 1 May 1979 | Bolton Wanderers | A | 4–1 | Johnson 11' R Kennedy 51', 76' Dalglish 75' | 35,200 | Report | Report |
| 5 May 1979 | Southampton | H | 2–0 | Neal 16', 80' | 46,687 | Report | Report |
| 8 May 1979 | Aston Villa | H | 3–0 | A Kennedy 1' Dalglish 38' McDermott 57' | 50,576 | Report | Report |
| 11 May 1979 | Middlesbrough | A | 1–0 | Johnson 56' | 32,244 | Report | Report |
| 17 May 1979 | Leeds United | A | 3–0 | Johnson 21', 57' Case 42' | 41,324 | Report | Report |

### FA Cup

| Date | Opponents | Venue | Result | Scorers | Attendance | Report 1 | Report 2 |
| 10 January 1979 | Southend United | A | 0–0 | | 31,033 | Report | Report |
| 17 January 1979 | Southend United | H | 3–0 | Case 38' Dalglish 75' R Kennedy 85' | 37.797 | Report | Report |
| 30 January 1979 | Blackburn Rovers | H | 1–0 | Dalglish 82' | 43,432 | Report | Report |
| 28 February 1979 | Burnley | H | 3–0 | Johnson 43', 61' Souness 59' | 47,161 | Report | Report |
| 10 March 1979 | Ipswich Town | A | 1–0 | Dalglish 52' | 31,322 | Report | Report |
| 31 March 1979 | Manchester United | N | 2–2 | Dalglish 17' Hansen 82' | 52,584 | Report | Report |
| 4 April 1979 | Manchester United | N | 0–1 | | 53,069 | Report | Report |

### League Cup

| Date | Opponents | Venue | Result | Scorers | Attendance | Report 1 | Report 2 |
| 28 August 1978 | Sheffield United | A | 0–1 | | 35753 | Report | Report |

### European Cup

| Date | Opponents | Venue | Result | Scorers | Attendance | Report 1 | Report 2 |
| 13 September 1978 | Nottingham Forest | A | 0–2 | | 38,316 | Report | Report |
| 27 September 1978 | Nottingham Forest | H | 0–0 | | 51,679 | Report | Report |

### European Super Cup

| Date | Opponents | Venue | Result | Scorers | Attendance | Report 1 | Report 2 |
| 4 December 1978 | R.S.C. Anderlecht | A | 1–3 | Case 27' | 35,000 | Report | Report |
| 19 December 1978 | R.S.C. Anderlecht | H | 2–1 | Hughes 13' Fairclough 85' | 23,598 | Report | Report |