1981–82 Liverpool F.C. season

Liverpool F.C.

1981–82 season
Manager	Bob Paisley
First Division	Champions
FA Cup	Fifth round
League Cup	Winners
European Cup	Quarter-finals
Intercontinental Cup	Runners-up
Top goalscorer	League: Ian Rush (17) All: Ian Rush (30)
Home colours Away colours

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		Division 1		FA Cup		League Cup		European Cup		World Club Champ.
				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	Team	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
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

Source: World Football
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored
(C) Champions
Notes:

Results

First Division

Main article: 1981–82 Football League § 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

Main article: 1981-82 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

Main article: 1981–82 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

Main article: 1982 Football League Cup Final

13 March 1982

15:00 GMT

Liverpool	3–1 (a.e.t.)	Tottenham Hotspur
Whelan 87', 111' Rush 119'	Report	Archibald 11'

Wembley Stadium, London

Liverpool

Tottenham Hotspur

GK 1 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

GK 1 Ray Clemence LB 2 Chris Hughton CB 3 Paul Miller CB 4 Paul Price RM 5 Mickey 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

Main article: 1981-82 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 67 Alkmaar	A	2–2	Johnson 26' Lee 49'	15,000	Report	Report
04-Nov-81	AZ 67 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

Main article: 1981 Intercontinental Cup

13 December 1981

12:00 JST

Liverpool	0–3	Flamengo
	Report	Nunes 12' 41' Adílio 34'

National Stadium, Tokyo

Attendance: 62,000

Referee: Rubio Vásquez (Mexico)

Liverpool

Flamengo

GK 1 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

GK 1 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

References

• LFC History.net – Games for the 1981–82 season
• Liverweb - Games for the 1981-82 season