2010–11 Liverpool F.C. season

 

On 1 July, Liverpool announced that their fixtures for pre-season would start in Austria against Al-Hilal on 17 July. The game, however, was cancelled due to heavy rainfall days before the match, which left the pitch in unplayable conditions. Liverpool continued with their pre-season preparations with a 0–0 draw with Grasshoppers on 21 July and a 1–0 defeat at the hands of 1. FC Kaiserslautern on 24 July thanks to a first half goal from Iliyan Mitsanski. Liverpool completed their pre-season programme with a 1–0 defeat to their 1977 European Cup Final opponents Borussia Mönchengladbach on 1 August. Karim Matmour's early goal meant that Liverpool completed their pre-season without victory.

(For match reports, see matches section)

Liverpool started their season with a pair of wins against Macedonian side Rabotnički on 29 July. In front of a largely empty stadium, the side won their first competitive fixture under Roy Hodgson, 2–0, following a double salvo from David Ngog. In the return leg, Steven Gerrard scored from the penalty spot and Ngog scored another to make it 2–0.

On 15 August, Liverpool entertained title contenders Arsenal at Anfield. The away side had the lion's share of the possession, and looked to be well on their way to gaining control of the fixture, when Joe Cole got sent off on his Liverpool Premier League debut for a late tackle on Laurent Koscielny. In the second half, want-away star midfielder Javier Mascherano set up Ngog, who made a blistering run, before firing the ball into the back of the net. At the end of the game, the one-man deficit took its toll, and despite several spectacular saves from Pepe Reina, he eventually fumbled in an equaliser in a rare mistake from the Spanish international. Koscielny then was sent off for receiving a second yellow, before Gerrard fired a stoppage-time free kick just inches wide. Fernando Torres returned from injury and was greeted with a standing ovation while coming on.

On the Thursday that followed, Trabzonspor travelled to Anfield for the playoff round of the UEFA Europa League. A less-than-convincing first half-display from Liverpool turned into a sudden success, as Cole assisted Ryan Babel, who made no mistake with the finish. Cole then had the chance to score from the spot in the second half but blew it, the shot sent straight at the goalkeeper. Cole later admitted it was his first ever penalty kick as a professional. Christian Poulsen made his debut for the club, the Danish international being signed from Juventus for £4.5 million. At the same time, Italian playmaker Alberto Aquilani went in the other direction, in his case on loan with a public buyout clause.

On 23 August, Liverpool travelled to Eastlands to face Manchester City. Prior to the match, Mascherano handed in a transfer request and was dropped from the squad. Just days afterwards, he was presented at Barcelona. In the wake of the Mascherano saga, Liverpool struggled against Manchester City, who won 3–0, a score that could have been even higher. The goals were scored by Gareth Barry and Carlos Tevez, two former Liverpool transfer targets.

The poor season start looked to go from bad to worse as Trabzonspor scored the opener in the return leg thanks to Teófilo Gutiérrez, but thanks to a late own goal and a strike from Dirk Kuyt, Liverpool managed to just scrape through to the group stage.

On the Sunday, Liverpool capped the week off with a second win, narrowly defeating West Bromwich Albion, who surprisingly dominated the possession in the first half. Liverpool got out of jail thanks to a moment of genius from Kuyt and Torres, Kuyt playing in a nice cross which Torres rifled into the corner for the winning goal. In spite of the victory, the performance was criticised by the fans, not content with the way Hodgson set up his tactics. The response was the signing of Raul Meireles for half of the money received for Mascherano. The Portuguese international made his first foreign foray, following four Primeira Liga titles with Porto. On deadline day, Liverpool landed Paul Konchesky from Fulham.

In September, Liverpool struggled and recorded a winless month in Premier League matches. On 12 September, the away match against Birmingham City ended goalless, with Pepe Reina named Man of the Match following several key saves in a match where Birmingham had the upper hand. Liverpool could have won, however, as Gerrard had a penalty claim waved away in the first half.

Four days later, the side started the group stage phase of the Europa League with a comfortable victory against Steaua București at Anfield. Inside the first minute, Joe Cole took advantage of a defensive slip to score the opening goal. Despite Steaua drawing level within a quarter of an hour, Liverpool cruised to victory in the second half, with Ngog scoring twice, including his first ever penalty for the club. Lucas also scored his first of the season.

The following Sunday (19 September) was the first North West derby of the season, with Liverpool travelling to Old Trafford to face Manchester United. Two goals from Dimitar Berbatov, including a bicycle kick, saw United go into a 2–0 cushion with half an hour left, when Fernando Torres won a penalty, being pulled down by Nemanja Vidić. With Gerrard scoring from the spot, Liverpool's hopes were reinvigorated, and when Torres was pulled down outside the box, Gerrard took the free kick with great precision, drawing Liverpool level, kissing the TV camera in celebration. The Liverpool joy was short-lived, as Berbatov scored his third goal from a header less than ten minutes from time. This meant Liverpool had only five points from five games, but with two home matches against unfancied sides coming up next.

In mid-week, Liverpool lost to Northampton Town in the League Cup at Anfield. It was the first time ever Liverpool had lost to a fourth-tier team, and the team was heavily criticised by the fans following the display from what essentially was the second XI. The loss was on penalty kicks, following 1–1 at full-time and 2–2 after extra time. Following Ngog's late equaliser, Liverpool were lucky to scrape through to the shootout, where Ngog missed his penalty and the side went out in humiliating fashion.

As courtroom battles over the right to sell the club to new investors intensified, Liverpool at least got a gift against Sunderland at home, as a brief touch on the ball by a Sunderland player was deemed enough for referee Stuart Atwell to let the play go on. Torres snapped up the ball and assisted Dirk Kuyt for a controversial goal. Atwell was not awarded with any more Premier League matches for the rest of the calendar year as a result of the goal. Sunderland turned the deficit thanks to a brace from Darren Bent, one of them from the penalty spot. Liverpool was spared the embarrassment of a third consecutive defeat thanks to a header from Gerrard following Torres' second assist of the afternoon. Controversially, Gerrard and Torres celebrated the goal on separate locations, sparking further rumours of differences between the two. A few days later, Liverpool claimed a clean sheet and a point away from home against Utrecht in the Europa League.

At the end of the month, the prospect of the club going into administration was dismissed, and even if the Royal Bank of Scotland had taken over the shares, the side would not be docked the nine points as stipulated by the Premier League.

The crisis continued with a shock defeat to Blackpool, where Fernando Torres limped off with a groin injury in the first half. One penalty kick and a defensive mistake caused a 0–2 deficit at the interval, and in spite of Sotirios Kyrgiakos header, and a big chance for Joe Cole a minute later, the pressure faded, and Blackpool had no problems holding on. The defeat left Liverpool in the relegation zone.

The imminent takeover looked to stall, in spite of Fenway Sports Group agreeing a fee with chairman Martin Broughton, who along with Christian Purslow and Ian Ayre had a majority in Kop Holdings, the group in charge of selling the club, where co-owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett also held seats. Hicks and Gillett took the other board members to court, and on the Friday prior to the Merseyside derby, the High Court in London, declared that the process was against British law, and that the juridical process in Texas was not going to stop the affair taking place. New owner John W. Henry immediately travelled to Liverpool, watching the derby in attendance, being joined by future chairman Tom Werner.

The derby itself saw Liverpool sink deeper into the relegation mire, with Mikel Arteta and Tim Cahill scoring Everton's goals. Following the defeat, Hodgson praised the performance in the second half, which led to demands of his resignation from prominent supporter groups. Henry and FSG gave Hodgson a vote of confidence, in spite of fan demands of Kenny Dalglish to be appointed in a clean slate following the shift of ownership.

An under-pressure manager went to Naples to face Napoli, with a B-spec side. Napoli was fighting in the top of Serie A. In spite of Liverpool being tipped by fans and media alike to lose heavily, a goalless draw was eventually a fair result. Three days later, the side also turned a corner, by winning against Blackburn Rovers at Anfield. It was not quite enough to escape the relegation zone, but the performance was relatively convincing, and Torres's winner came as an immediate response to an own goal from Jamie Carragher that took Blackburn right into the match.

October ended with Hodgson's only domestic away victory with Liverpool, when the side scored a late winner at Bolton Wanderers. The match did not provide much spark until a flick with the heel from Torres put Maxi Rodríguez through five minutes from time, and the Argentine blasted the ball in with a toe-hit. In the same match, Cole got injured and was set to miss out on a whole month. The most important effect of the two-match streak was that it meant Liverpool left the relegation zone for good, albeit they were never in a safe distance from it until 15 matches later.

Liverpool continued their winning streak into November, with what was likely their best performance under Hodgson in a 2–0 win over Chelsea at Anfield, courtesy of two Fernando Torres who scored both goals for Liverpool. One being a well taken finish, the other a sublime piece of skill which saw him curl the ball past the helpless Petr Čech. Despite coming under serious pressure from Chelsea in the second half, Liverpool held out for a shock win. Some say that this defeat for Chelsea sparked their dreadful mid-season form which cost them the title.

However, the recovery was halted somewhat after a surprise 1–1 draw against Wigan Athletic at the DW Stadium just a few days later. Torres was again on the score sheet with a well taken opener, before Charles N'Zogbia equalised for the Latics.

There would be further frustration for the Reds on the road, after a dismal performance and a deserved 2–0 loss to Stoke City on a Saturday evening. Liverpool recovered from the defeat though, with a deserved 3–0 victory against West Ham United at Anfield thanks to three first-half goals from Glen Johnson, a penalty from Dirk Kuyt and header by Maxi Rodríguez.

Liverpool ended the month in disappointing fashion. Despite leading Tottenham Hotspur 1–0 at half time, thanks to a rare goal from Martin Škrtel, Liverpool collapsed in the second half and lost thanks to an injury time winner through Aaron Lennon.

Liverpool played only one Europa League game in this month. A 3–1 win over Napoli was not as easy as it looks on paper. Liverpool went into half time losing 1–0, but Steven Gerrard rescued his team in the second half with an excellent hat trick. A penalty, and a superb chip over the Napoli goalkeeper, as well as capitalizing on a dreadful error by former Liverpool player Andrea Dossena guided Liverpool to three points in their group.

Liverpool stormed to their fourth consecutive home victory, a 3–0 Monday night win against Aston Villa via first half goals from David Ngog and Ryan Babel. (This would be Babel's last goal for the club.) Maxi Rodríguez added a third in the second half after an excellent Liverpool counter-attack. Gérard Houllier claimed afterwards that he "didn't mind" losing to Liverpool, prompting a furious response from Villa fans. On another Saturday evening game, Liverpool were torn apart by Newcastle United, falling 3–1 at St James' Park. Dirk Kuyt managed to draw the Reds level after Kevin Nolan had fired Newcastle in front, but Joey Barton put the Geordies in front.

Liverpool played only three games in December after the scheduled game at Bloomfield Road against Blackpool was canceled. Liverpool ended the month with the visit of Wolverhampton Wanderers to Anfield, although Liverpool had lost their last game, fans were reasonably confident of a good result in this game. Raul Meireles should have put Liverpool in front after nine minutes when presented with a one-on-one opportunity after a quick free kick from Fernando Torres, as this proved to be Liverpool's best chance of the night. Wolves gradually grew into the game and restricted Liverpool to long, and hopeful hoofs from Pepe Reina to give them a chance. Stephen Ward deservedly put Wolves in front after an hour and Liverpool fans visibly became more distressed. Chants of "Dalglish" grew louder, and ironic chants of "Hodgson for England" (in reference to Roy being linked with the position after England's disastrous 2010 FIFA World Cup campaign) were echoing round the stadium. Some home fans even joined in the away supports chants of "You're getting sacked in the morning" and booed when David Ngog was substituted for Ryan Babel, despite the Frenchman being Liverpool's best player on the night. As well as cheering ironically when Paul Konchesky was substituted for Fábio Aurélio, the fans booed at the final whistle and the contempt for Hodgson was stronger than ever.

Liverpool drew both of their December Europa League games, a 1–1 away draw against Steaua and a 0–0 draw against Utrecht at Anfield, enough for Liverpool's progression to the competition's knockout stages.

 

January began in dramatic fashion for Liverpool. On the traditional New Year's Day fixture, they fell behind at home to Bolton in the 43rd minute thanks to a Kevin Davies goal. An unsurprisingly, nowhere near full Anfield, rallied and got their rewards through a 49th-minute goal by Fernando Torres. Liverpool secured a league double over Bolton, and again scored late against them, with Joe Cole getting on the score sheet for the first time in his Liverpool career in the Premier League. This would be Hodgson's last game at Anfield.

In what would prove to be Hodgson's last ever game as Liverpool manager, his team were torn to shreds by a stunning performance from Blackburn. First half goals from Martin Olsson and a goal for Benjani set the tone for the rest of the evening. Things went from bad to worse for Liverpool after Benjani scored his second goal to make the score 3–0 after just 58 minutes. Liverpool were clearly shell shocked, but did manage to pull a goal back through Gerrard. Liverpool also got a penalty with only a few minutes to go, but Gerrard uncharacteristically skied the ball over the bar. Gerrard appeared to show little emotion after missing the penalty that would have got Liverpool back into the game, sparking rumours that he missed the spot kick on purpose to get Hodgson sacked.

On 8 January 2011, just one day before Liverpool were due to kick off their FA Cup campaign against Manchester United, the club announced Hodgson had left by mutual consent. Kenny Dalglish was due to take charge on a temporary basis until the end of the season. The news was welcomed by most Liverpool fans and the FA Cup game somewhat took lesser importance given Dalglish had not even had a days training with the squad he had inherited.

Liverpool lost their third round FA Cup game to Manchester United at Old Trafford thanks to an early penalty from Ryan Giggs; the spot kick was awarded after Dimitar Berbatov had gone over from a Daniel Agger challenge. Gerrard was to be sent off by referee Howard Webb in the first half after a reckless challenge, which would mean he would miss Liverpool's next three games (including the derby game against Everton at Anfield).

In Dalglish's first ever Premier League game in charge of Liverpool, his side lost to Blackpool 2–1, despite first taking the lead. Meireles finally scored his first goal for the club in the match, which ended 2–2. Anfield, however, was stunned after a Sylvain Distin goal from a corner in the first minute of the second half. Jermaine Beckford then put Everton in front with a well-placed finish. Liverpool won a penalty in the 68th minute which Dirk Kuyt duly slotted home. Despite the result, it was a definite improvement to performances under Hodgson.

In Liverpool's second league away game under Dalglish, they stormed past Wolves. Winning by a 3–0 margin, soon-to-depart Fernando Torres scored his last goals for the club. The first was from an excellent breakaway move which saw Meireles slip in the Spaniard who had an easy task to convert. It was Meireles who added a second on the day with a stunning volley that was later voted Goal of the Season by Liverpool fans. Torres rounded off the day – and his Liverpool career – by finishing a 31-pass move to give Dalglish his first win in charge of Liverpool. A few days later, Torres and Meireles helped out stressing John Paintsil into botching a clearance that resulted in Liverpool winning 1–0 at home to Fulham, this in spite of being struggling throughout the game. This meant the side moved into the top half of the table. On 31 January came Dalglish's first signings for the club since taking charge for the second time; Luis Suárez and Andy Carroll joined Liverpool for £22 million and a club record £35 million respectively. Torres left Liverpool for Chelsea for £50 million the same day, following a transfer request and a couple of intense days for the club as they had a bid turned down for Carroll before they sealed the transfer. Torres's move was regarded with contempt by Liverpool supporters, some of whom burned their replica "Torres #9" shirts on live television (Sky Sports News).

Following the sale of Torres and the arrivals of Carroll and Suárez (none fit enough to start from the beginning), Liverpool seemed to have a much thinner squad than at the start of the season. Carroll was unavailable for another month, while Suárez had been suspended due to biting Otman Bakkal in the ear in Eredivisie and therefore lacked match fitness. In the home game against Stoke, it was therefore primarily left to Gerrard and Meireles to earn the victory. Gerrard's free kick hit the wall and bounced favourably for Meireles, who tucked in a close-range shot to ensure Liverpool took the lead. Suárez was then substituted onto the pitch, and from a Dirk Kuyt throughball was alone with the goalkeeper, rounded him and tried to place a shot into the corner. A Stoke defender tried to clear in vain, and Suárez therefore became the first Liverpool player since his predecessor Torres to score on his Anfield debut.

The coming weekend Liverpool travelled to London to face Chelsea, with Torres making his debut against his former club. He received an elbow check from Daniel Agger and was denied a shot at goal when Jamie Carragher threw himself in his path. Being largely invisible in the second half, he was substituted, only to see Meireles tuck away one of only two chances for Liverpool the entire match, which won the game for the side. In the first half, Maxi Rodríguez had missed an open goal, whereas Chelsea struggled to create any significant chances at all on Liverpool's compact five-men defensive line, in which Glen Johnson had been moved to left back due to Fábio Aurélio's injury. Right back Martin Kelly impressed in his role.

Late February saw three unsuccessful clashes for Liverpool as the resurgence was halted. Following Meireles' goal against Wigan at Anfield and a compact advantage in play, few had expected defender Steve Gohouri to equalise for Wigan, after Liverpool's performance decreased in the second half. Suárez came close to a dream full debut as he smashed a free kick against the bar. Next Thursday, Liverpool travelled to the Czech Republic to face Sparta Prague. A dull encounter ended 0–0 with barely any chances created. The slump continued as relegation-bound West Ham beat Liverpool 3–1 at Upton Park on 28 February. This included a spectacular and rare strike from Hammer's figurehead Scott Parker, while Demba Ba and Carlton Cole also found the net against a five-defender line that looked out of place the entire game. Suárez was again on the prowl for Liverpool as he assisted Glen Johnson for the late consolation goal.

With Suárez being cup-tied for the Europa League, Liverpool had to make do without him in the return leg against Sparta Prague at Anfield. The visitors came close to having a shock away goal to knock Liverpool out, before Dirk Kuyt reacted the fastest on a late corner to head Liverpool into the last 16.

Liverpool were defeated by Braga in Portugal after Sotirios Kyrgiakos made a clumsy challenge that resulted in a spot-kick which Alan converted. Manchester United then came to Liverpool in search of three points to effectively put themselves out of bounds in the title chase against Arsenal. Liverpool donned a 4–3–3 formation with Kuyt and Suárez interchanging positions between right and centre and Maxi Rodríguez to the left. The trio's mobility put large holes to display in United's defence, with a stunning solo raid from Suárez enabling Kuyt to nick an open goal on about 20 minutes time. Following Dimitar Berbatov's hitting of the post for United in the opening ten minutes, that turned the play up on its head, and when Nani tried to clear a Suárez cross, only to hit the path of Kuyt, Liverpool went 2–0 up. In the second half, Suárez fired a free kick that Edwin van der Sar was powerless to keep in his hands, and Kuyt pounced on the rebound to make it a hat-trick and sealing the win for Liverpool. The game also saw a horrific challenge from Jamie Carragher on Nani, resulting in the latter being carried of the pitch on a stretcher with Carragher surprisingly escaping a red card for the late challenge. A challenge from Fabio on a Liverpool player a minute later in response nearly started a brawl on-pitch. As it was, the second half was a much less heated affair, and even though Javier Hernández scored a late consolation goal for United, Liverpool's win was never in doubt.

The return leg against Braga saw Andy Carroll get a big chance to equalise on aggregate, but his header hit the bar and Liverpool went out in the last 16. This was the first time since 2006 that Liverpool fans had no European quarter-final to look forward too, and the elimination was considered a disappointment.

With Suárez back in the starting XI away from home to Sunderland, the side won 2–0. Gerrard was out for the season with a hamstring injury, which saw Jay Spearing receiving long-awaited first team action. Spearing was brought down on the edge of the box and the referee decided it was committed inside the area. Kuyt converted the spot kick to send Liverpool ahead, and Suárez clinched the victory with a hard shot from a tight angle that goalkeeper Simon Mignolet could not save.

Players' age as of 31 May 2011 (end of season)

No.	Name	Nationality	Position	Date of Birth (Age)	Signed from	Contract ends
Goalkeepers
25	Pepe Reina		GK	(1982-08-31)31 August 1982 (aged 28)	Villarreal	2016
42	Péter Gulácsi		GK	(1990-03-06)6 March 1990 (aged 21)	MTK Hungária	2013
Defenders
2	Glen Johnson		RB	(1984-08-23)23 August 1984 (aged 26)	Portsmouth	2015
3	Paul Konchesky		LB	(1981-05-15)15 May 1981 (aged 30)	Fulham	2014
5	Daniel Agger		CB	(1984-12-12)12 December 1984 (aged 26)	Brøndby	2014
6	Fábio Aurélio		LB	(1979-09-24)24 September 1979 (aged 31)	Valencia	2012
16	Sotirios Kyrgiakos		CB	(1979-07-23)23 July 1979 (aged 31)	AEK Athens	2011
22	Danny Wilson		CB	(1991-12-27)27 December 1991 (aged 19)	Rangers	2013
23	Jamie Carragher		CB	(1978-01-28)28 January 1978 (aged 33)	The Academy	2013
34	Martin Kelly		RB	(1990-04-27)27 April 1990 (aged 21)	The Academy	2014
37	Martin Škrtel		CB	(1984-12-15)15 December 1984 (aged 26)	Zenit	2014
38	Jon Flanagan		RB	(1993-01-01)1 January 1993 (aged 18)	The Academy	2013
49	Jack Robinson		LB	(1993-09-01)1 September 1993 (aged 17)	The Academy	2013
Midfielders
4	Raul Meireles		CM	(1983-03-17)17 March 1983 (aged 28)	Porto	2014
8	Steven Gerrard		DM/CM/AM	(1980-05-30)30 May 1980 (aged 31)	The Academy	2013
10	Joe Cole		AM	(1981-11-08)8 November 1981 (aged 29)	Chelsea	2014
17	Maxi Rodríguez		LW	(1981-01-02)2 January 1981 (aged 30)	Atlético Madrid	2013
18	Dirk Kuyt		RW	(1980-07-22)22 July 1980 (aged 30)	Feyenoord	2013
21	Lucas		DM	(1987-01-09)9 January 1987 (aged 24)	Grêmio	2015
26	Jay Spearing		DM	(1988-11-25)25 November 1988 (aged 22)	The Academy	2015
28	Christian Poulsen		DM	(1980-02-28)28 February 1980 (aged 31)	Juventus	2013
33	Jonjo Shelvey		CM	(1992-02-27)27 February 1992 (aged 19)	Charlton Athletic	2014
Strikers
7	Luis Suárez		ST	(1987-01-24)24 January 1987 (aged 24)	Ajax	2016
9	Andy Carroll		ST	(1989-01-06)6 January 1989 (aged 22)	Newcastle United	2016
14	Milan Jovanović		ST	(1981-04-18)18 April 1981 (aged 30)	Standard Liège	2013
24	David Ngog		ST	(1989-04-01)1 April 1989 (aged 22)	Paris Saint-Germain	2012

As of 22 May 2011.

No.	Pos	Nat	Player	Total		Premier League		UEFA Europa League		FA Cup		League Cup
				Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
2	DF	ENG	Glen Johnson	35	2	28	2	7	0	0	0	0	0
3	DF	ENG	Paul Konchesky	18	0	15	0	3	0	0	0	0	0
4	MF	POR	Raul Meireles	41	5	32+1	5	7	0	1	0	0	0
5	DF	DEN	Daniel Agger	21	0	12+4	0	3	0	1	0	1	0
6	DF	BRA	Fábio Aurélio	21	0	7+7	0	5+1	0	1	0	0	0
7	FW	URU	Luis Suárez	13	4	12+1	4	0	0	0	0	0	0
8	MF	ENG	Steven Gerrard	24	8	20+1	4	1+1	4	1	0	0	0
9	FW	ENG	Andy Carroll	9	2	5+2	2	1+1	0	0	0	0	0
10	MF	ENG	Joe Cole	32	3	9+11	2	10+2	1	0	0	0	0
14	MF	SRB	Milan Jovanović	18	2	5+5	0	7	1	0	0	1	1
16	DF	GRE	Sotirios Kyrgiakos	28	2	10+6	2	9+2	0	0	0	1	0
17	MF	ARG	Maxi Rodríguez	35	10	24+4	10	4+2	0	1	0	0	0
18	FW	NED	Dirk Kuyt	41	15	32+1	13	6+1	2	1	0	0	0
21	MF	BRA	Lucas	47	1	32+1	0	9+3	1	1	0	1	0
22	DF	SCO	Danny Wilson	8	0	1+1	0	5	0	0	0	1	0
23	DF	ENG	Jamie Carragher	38	0	28	0	9+1	0	0	0	0	0
24	FW	FRA	David Ngog	38	8	9+16	2	8+3	5	0+1	0	1	1
25	GK	ESP	Pepe Reina	50	0	38	0	11	0	1	0	0	0
26	MF	ENG	Jay Spearing	20	0	10+1	0	5+3	0	0	0	1	0
28	MF	DEN	Christian Poulsen	21	0	9+3	0	9	0	0	0	0	0
33	MF	ENG	Jonjo Shelvey	21	0	0+15	0	4	0	0+1	0	0+1	0
34	DF	ENG	Martin Kelly	23	0	10+1	0	10	0	1	0	1	0
37	DF	SVK	Martin Škrtel	49	2	38	2	7+3	0	1	0	0	0
38	DF	ENG	Jon Flanagan	7	0	7	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
45	FW	ENG	Tom Ince	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0+1	0
49	DF	ENG	Jack Robinson	2	0	1+1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Players sold or loaned out after the start of the season:
1	GK	BRA	Diego Cavalieri	2	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	0
1	GK	AUS	Brad Jones	2	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	1	0
4	MF	ITA	Alberto Aquilani	2	0	0	0	1+1	0	0	0	0	0
9	FW	ESP	Fernando Torres	26	9	22+1	9	2	0	1	0	0	0
12	FW	ESP	Dani Pacheco	7	0	0+1	0	2+3	0	0	0	1	0
19	FW	NED	Ryan Babel	17	2	1+8	1	6	1	0+1	0	1	0
20	MF	ARG	Javier Mascherano	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
32	DF	ENG	Stephen Darby	1	0	0	0	0+1	0	0	0	0	0
38	FW	FIN	Lauri Dalla Valle	1	0	0	0	0+1	0	0	0	0	0
39	FW	ENG	Nathan Eccleston	7	0	0+1	0	1+4	0	0	0	0+1	0
46	FW	ENG	David Amoo	1	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0

Includes all competitive matches. The list is sorted by shirt number when total goals are equal.

Last updated on 9 May 2011

Position	Nation	Number	Name	Premier League	Europa League	League Cup	FA Cup	Total
1		18	Dirk Kuyt	13	2	0	0	15
2		17	Maxi Rodríguez	10	0	0	0	10
3		9	Fernando Torres	9	0	0	0	9
4		8	Steven Gerrard	4	4	0	0	8
		24	David Ngog	2	5	1	0	8
6		4	Raul Meireles	5	0	0	0	5
7		7	Luis Suárez	4	0	0	0	4
8		10	Joe Cole	2	1	0	0	3
9		2	Glen Johnson	2	0	0	0	2
		9	Andy Carroll	2	0	0	0	2
		14	Milan Jovanović	0	1	1	0	2
		16	Sotirios Kyrgiakos	2	0	0	0	2
		19	Ryan Babel	1	1	0	0	2
		37	Martin Škrtel	2	0	0	0	2
15		21	Lucas	0	1	0	0	1
TOTALS				58	15	2	0	75

Updated 08/05/11

N	Pos.	Nat.	Name				Notes
21	CM		Lucas	9	1	0
8	CM		Gerrard	2		1
10	AM		Cole	1		1
37	CB		Škrtel	9
4	CM		Meireles	6
9	CF		Torres	6
23	CB		Carragher	5
2	DF		Johnson	5
25	GK		Reina	4
17	RW		Rodríguez	3
18	FW		Kuyt	3
28	DM		Poulsen	3
34	CB		Kelly	3
16	CB		Kyrgiakos	2
3	DF		Konchesky	2
24	CF		Ngog	2
6	LB		Aurélio	2
9	FW		Carroll	2
38	RB		Flanagan	2
7	FW		Suárez	1
22	CB		Wilson	1
33	CM		Shelvey	1
49	LB		Robinson	1
14	LW		Jovanović	1
39	FW		Eccleston	1

Last updated: 30 October 2010
Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/l/liverpool/squad_profiles/default.stm
Only competitive matches
  = Number of bookings;   = Number of sending offs after a second yellow card;   = Number of sending offs by a direct red card.. |} Last updated: 27 January 2011
Source: Squad stats and Start formations.
Only competitive matches.
Using the most used start formation.
Ordered by position on pitch (from back right to front left).

The home strip for the 2010–11 season was revealed on 8 April 2010 bearing the Standard Chartered logo.^[2] The Adidas strip represents a modern interpretation of the one worn during the 1989–90 campaign in which Liverpool won their eighteenth league title. The away strip was revealed on 8 June and is white with a red trim, with black shorts accompanying it. The third kit was revealed on 15 June and is black with a yellow trim.

First Team

No.	Pos.	Nat.	Name	Age	EU	Moving from	Type	Transfer window	Ends	Transfer fee	Source
33	CM		Jonjo Shelvey	18	EU	Charlton Athletic	Transfer	Summer	2014	£1,700,000	liverpoolfc.com
14	FW		Milan Jovanović	29	Non-EU	Standard Liège	Transfer	Summer	2013	Free	liverpoolfc.com
22	CB		Danny Wilson	18	EU	Rangers	Transfer	Summer	2014	£2,000,000	liverpoolfc.com
10	AM		Joe Cole	28	EU	Chelsea	Transfer	Summer	2014	Free	liverpoolfc.com
28	DM		Christian Poulsen	30	EU	Juventus	Transfer	Summer	2013	£4,500,000	liverpoolfc.com
1	GK		Brad Jones	28	EU	Middlesbrough	Transfer	Summer	2013	£2,300,000	liverpoolfc.com
4	CM		Raul Meireles	27	EU	Porto	Transfer	Summer	2014	£11,500,000	liverpoolfc.com
3	LB		Paul Konchesky	29	EU	Fulham	Transfer	Summer	2014	£3,000,000	liverpoolfc.com
7	FW		Luis Suárez	24	EU	Ajax	Transfer	Winter	2016	£22,700,000	liverpoolfc.com
9	ST		Andy Carroll	22	EU	Newcastle United	Transfer	Winter	2016	£35,000,000	liverpoolfc.com

Last updated: 31 January 2011

Reserves and Academy

No.	Pos.	Nat.	Name	Age	EU	Moving from	Type	Transfer window	Ends	Transfer fee	Source
	MF		Suso	16	EU	Cádiz	Transfer	Summer	2013	Undisclosed	liverpoolfc.com
	GK		Yusuf Mersin	16	Non-EU	Millwall	Transfer	Winter		Undisclosed	liverpoolfc.com
	CF		Jason Banton	18	EU	Free agent	Transfer	Winter	May 2011	Free	liverpoolfc.com

Last updated: 21 December

Total spending:   £82,800,000

First Team

N	Pos.	Nat.	Name	Age	EU	Moving to	Type	Transfer window	Transfer fee	Source
1	GK		Diego Cavalieri	27	Non-EU	Cesena	Released	Summer		liverpoolfc.tv
15	MF		Yossi Benayoun	30	Non-EU	Chelsea	Transfer	Summer	£5,500,000	liverpoolfc.tv
11	MF		Albert Riera	28	EU	Olympiacos	Transfer	Summer	£4,000,000	liverpoolfc.tv
20	MF		Javier Mascherano	26	EU	Barcelona	Transfer	Summer	£17,250,000	liverpoolfc.tv
30	GK		Charles Itandje	28	EU	Atromitos	Released	Winter		liverpoolfc.tv
19	FW		Ryan Babel	24	EU	1899 Hoffenheim	Transfer	Winter	£5,800,000	liverpoolfc.tv
9	FW		Fernando Torres	26	EU	Chelsea	Transfer	Winter	£50,000,000	liverpoolfc.tv

Last updated: 31 January 2011

Reserves and Academy

N	Pos.	Nat.	Name	Age	EU	Moving to	Type	Transfer window	Transfer fee	Source
29	FW		Krisztián Németh	21	EU	Olympiacos	Transfer	Summer	£1,000,000	liverpoolfc.tv
37	FW		Lauri Dalla Valle	18	EU	Fulham	Unknown	Summer	p/x	liverpoolfc.tv
38	DF		Robbie Threlfall	21	EU	Bradford City	Contract expired	Summer	Free	liverpoolfc.tv
45	DF		Mikel San José	20	EU	Athletic Bilbao	Transfer	Summer	£2,600,000	Athletic Bilbao
	FW		Jordy Brouwer	22	EU	ADO Den Haag	Transfer	Winter	Free	liverpoolfc.tv
	MF		Francis Durán	22	EU	Free agent	Contract expired	Summer	Free	liverpoolfc.tv
	DF		Michael Ihiekwe	17	EU	Wolverhampton Wanderers	Released	Summer		liverpoolfc.tv
	MF		Alex Kačaniklić	19	EU	Fulham	Unknown	Summer	p/x	liverpoolfc.tv
	GK		Nikolay Mihaylov	22	EU	Twente	Transfer	Summer	£1,000,000	liverpoolfc.tv
	GK		Christopher Oldfield	19	EU	Chester	Contract expired	Summer	Free	liverpoolfc.tv
	MF		Victor Pálsson	19	EU	Hibernian	Transfer	Winter	Free	liverpoolfc.tv
	MF		Damien Plessis	22	EU	Panathinaikos	Transfer	Summer	undisc	liverpoolfc.tv
	MF		Vincent Weijl	19	EU	Eibar	Unknown	Summer	Free	liverpoolfc.tv

Last updated: 22 December

Total income:   £87,150,000

#	Pos	Nat.	Player	From	Start	End
–	MF		Ádám Hajdú	MTK Hungária	31 August 2010	30 June 2011
–	MF		Conor Thomas	Coventry City	31 January 2011	30 June 2011

#	Pos	Nat.	Player	To	Start	End
3	LB		Paul Konchesky	Nottingham Forest	31 January 2011	3 May 2011
4	CM		Alberto Aquilani	Juventus	21 August 2010	30 June 2011
22	LB		Emiliano Insúa	Galatasaray	31 August 2010	30 June 2011
27	RWB		Philipp Degen	VfB Stuttgart	5 August 2010	30 June 2011
31	RW		Nabil El Zhar	PAOK	31 August 2010	30 June 2011
32	RB		Stephen Darby	Notts County	1 November 2010	31 May 2011
39	ST		Nathan Eccleston	Charlton Athletic	13 January 2011	30 June 2011
40	CB		Daniel Ayala	Hull City	11 September 2010	1 January 2011
40	CB		Daniel Ayala	Derby County	11 February 2011	30 June 2011
42	GK		Péter Gulácsi	Tranmere Rovers	17 September 2010	24 November 2010
44	CM		Victor Pálsson	Dagenham & Redbridge	4 November 2010	4 January 2011
45	LM		Tom Ince	Notts County	1 November 2010	3 January 2011
–	LB		Chris Mavinga	Genk	1 January 2011	30 May 2011
–	MF		Sean Highdale	Newtown	21 January 2011	15 May 2011
46	MF		David Amoo	MK Dons	25 January 2011	23 February 2011
46	MF		David Amoo	Hull City	28 February 2011	30 June 2011
1	GK		Brad Jones	Derby County	24 March 2011	30 June 2011
12	FW		Dani Pacheco	Norwich City	24 March 2011	30 June 2011

Period	Spending	Income	Loss/Gain
Summer	£25,025,000	£31,350,000	£6,325,000
Winter	£57,800,000	£55,800,000	£2,000,000
Totals	£82,825,000	£87,150,000	£4,325,000

Updated to match played 22 May 2011
Source: Competitions

Liverpool v Arsenal

15 August 2010 1	Liverpool	1–1	Arsenal	Liverpool
16:00 BST	Cole   45' Ngog   46' Gerrard   75'	Report	Wilshere   41' Rosický   85' Reina   90+1' (o.g.) Koscielny   90+2'   90+5'	Stadium: Anfield Attendance: 44,722 Referee: Martin Atkinson

Manchester City v Liverpool

23 August 2010 2	Manchester City	3–0	Liverpool	Manchester
20:00 BST	Barry   12' Tevez   51', 67' (pen.) Richards   58'	Report	Škrtel   4'	Stadium: City of Manchester Stadium Attendance: 47,087 Referee: Phil Dowd

Liverpool v West Bromwich Albion

29 August 2010 3	Liverpool	1–0	West Bromwich Albion	Liverpool
15:00 BST	Torres   66'	Report		Stadium: Anfield Attendance: 41,194 Referee: Lee Probert

Manchester United v Liverpool

19 September 2010 5	Manchester United	3–2	Liverpool	Manchester
13:30 BST	Berbatov   42', 59', 84' Rooney   57' Evans   63' Scholes   68' O'Shea   69'	Report	Gerrard   64' (pen.), 70' Ngog   66'	Stadium: Old Trafford Attendance: 75,213 Referee: Howard Webb

Liverpool v Sunderland

25 September 2010 6	Liverpool	2–2	Sunderland	Liverpool
15:00 BST	Kuyt   5' Gerrard   64'	Report	Bent   25' (pen.), 48'	Stadium: Anfield Attendance: 43,626 Referee: Stuart Attwell

Liverpool v Blackpool

3 October 2010 7	Liverpool	1–2	Blackpool	Liverpool
15:00 BST	Kyrgiakos   53'	Report	Adam   29' (pen.) Varney   45+2'	Stadium: Anfield Attendance: 43,156 Referee: Mike Jones

Everton v Liverpool

17 October 2010 8	Everton	2–0	Liverpool	Liverpool
13:30 BST	Cahill   28',   34' Arteta   50' Beckford   76'	Report	Rodríguez   18' Meireles   31' Torres   88'	Stadium: Goodison Park Attendance: 39,673 Referee: Howard Webb

Liverpool v Blackburn Rovers

24 October 2010 9	Liverpool	2–1	Blackburn Rovers	Liverpool
15:00 BST	Kyrgiakos   48' Torres   53' Rodríguez   67' Meireles   82'	Report	Olsson   28' Givet   28' Carragher   51' (o.g.) Grella   90+4'	Stadium: Anfield Attendance: 43,328 Referee: Phil Dowd

Bolton Wanderers v Liverpool

31 October 2010 10	Bolton Wanderers	0–1	Liverpool	Bolton
16:00 GMT	Taylor   49' Steinsson   89'	Report	Konchesky   21' Škrtel   75' Rodríguez   86'	Stadium: Reebok Stadium Attendance: 25,171 Referee: Martin Atkinson

Liverpool v Chelsea

7 November 2010 11	Liverpool	2–0	Chelsea	Liverpool
16:00 BST	Torres   11', 44'	Report	Zhirkov   20'	Stadium: Anfield Attendance: 44,238 Referee: Howard Webb

Wigan Athletic v Liverpool

10 November 2010 12	Wigan Athletic	1–1	Liverpool	Wigan
19:45 GMT	Rodallega   52'	Report	Torres   7'	Stadium: DW Stadium Attendance: 16,754 Referee: Peter Walton

Stoke City v Liverpool

13 November 2010 13	Stoke City	2–0	Liverpool	Stoke-on-Trent
17:30 GMT	Fuller   56' Jones   90+1'	Report		Stadium: Britannia Stadium Attendance: 27,286 Referee: Mark Halsey

Liverpool v West Ham United

20 November 2010 14	Liverpool	3–0	West Ham United	Liverpool
17:30 GMT	Johnson   18' Kuyt   27' (pen.) Rodríguez   38'	Report		Stadium: Anfield Attendance: 43,024 Referee: Lee Probert

Tottenham Hotspur v Liverpool

28 November 2010 15	Tottenham Hotspur	2–1	Liverpool	London
16:00 GMT	Škrtel   65' (o.g.) Lennon   90+2'	Report	Škrtel   42'	Stadium: White Hart Lane Attendance: 36,310 Referee: Martin Atkinson

Liverpool v Aston Villa

6 December 2010 16	Liverpool	3–0	Aston Villa	Liverpool
20:00 GMT	Ngog   14' Babel   16' Rodríguez   55'	Report		Stadium: Anfield Attendance: 39,079 Referee: Phil Dowd

Newcastle United v Liverpool

11 December 2010 17	Newcastle United	3–1	Liverpool	Newcastle
17:30 GMT	Nolan   15' Barton   80' Carroll   90+1'	Report	Kuyt   49'	Stadium: St. James' Park Attendance: 50,137 Referee: Lee Mason

Liverpool v Wolverhampton Wanderers

29 December 2010 18	Liverpool	0–1	Wolverhampton Wanderers	Liverpool
20:00 GMT		Report	Ward   56'	Stadium: Anfield Attendance: 41,614 Referee: Peter Walton

Liverpool v Bolton Wanderers

1 January 2011 19	Liverpool	2–1	Bolton Wanderers	Liverpool
15:00 GMT	Torres   49' Cole   90+2'	Report	Davies   43'	Stadium: Anfield Attendance: 35,400 Referee: Kevin Friend

Blackburn Rovers v Liverpool

5 January 2011 20	Blackburn Rovers	3–1	Liverpool	Blackburn
20:00 GMT	Olsson   32' Benjani   38', 57'	Report	Gerrard   81'	Stadium: Ewood Park Attendance: 24,522 Referee: Andre Marriner

Blackpool v Liverpool

12 January 2011 21	Blackpool	2–1	Liverpool	Blackpool
20:00 GMT	Taylor-Fletcher   12' Campbell   69'	Report	Torres   3'	Stadium: Bloomfield Road Attendance: 16,089 Referee: Michael Oliver

Liverpool v Everton

16 January 2011 22	Liverpool	2–2	Everton	Liverpool
14:05 GMT	Meireles   29' Reina   53' Torres   63' Kuyt   68' (pen.),   89'	Report	Distin   46' Beckford   49'	Stadium: Anfield Attendance: 44,795 Referee: Phil Dowd

Wolverhampton Wanderers v Liverpool

22 January 2011 23	Wolverhampton Wanderers	0–3	Liverpool	Wolverhampton
12:45 GMT		Report	Torres   36', 90+1' Meireles   50'	Stadium: Molineux Attendance: 28,869 Referee: Martin Atkinson

Liverpool v Fulham

26 January 2011 24	Liverpool	1–0	Fulham	Liverpool
20:00 GMT	Pantsil   52' (o.g.)	Report		Stadium: Anfield Attendance: 40,466 Referee: Lee Probert

Liverpool v Stoke City

2 February 2011 25	Liverpool	2–0	Stoke City	Liverpool
20:00 GMT	Meireles   47' Suárez   79'	Report		Stadium: Anfield Attendance: 40,254 Referee: Anthony Taylor

Chelsea v Liverpool

6 February 2011 26	Chelsea	0–1	Liverpool	London
16:00 GMT	Mikel   1'	Report	Meireles   69' Lucas   74'	Stadium: Stamford Bridge Attendance: 41,829 Referee: Andre Marriner

Liverpool v Wigan Athletic

12 February 2011 27	Liverpool	1–1	Wigan Athletic	Liverpool
15:00 GMT	Meireles   24'	Report	Gohouri   65'	Stadium: Anfield Attendance: 44,609 Referee: Kevin Friend

West Ham United v Liverpool

27 February 2011 28	West Ham United	3–1	Liverpool	London
13:30 GMT	Parker   22' Ba   45' Cole   90+1'	Report	Johnson   84'	Stadium: Upton Park Attendance: 34,941 Referee: Mark Halsey

Liverpool v Manchester United

6 March 2011 29	Liverpool	3–1	Manchester United	Liverpool
13:30 GMT	Kuyt   34', 39', 65' Carragher   45+1' Škrtel   45+5'	Report	van der Sar   45+2' Rafael   45+5' Scholes   83' Hernández   90'	Stadium: Anfield Attendance: 44,753 Referee: Phil Dowd

Sunderland v Liverpool

20 March 2011 30	Sunderland	0–2	Liverpool	Sunderland
13:30 GMT		Report	Kuyt   34' (pen.) Suárez   77'	Stadium: Stadium of Light Attendance: 47,207 Referee: Kevin Friend

West Bromwich Albion v Liverpool

2 April 2011 31	West Bromwich Albion	2–1	Liverpool	West Bromwich
15:00 BST	Brunt   62' (pen.), 88' (pen.)	Report	Škrtel   50'	Stadium: The Hawthorns Attendance: 26,196 Referee: Martin Atkinson

Liverpool v Manchester City

11 April 2011 32	Liverpool	3–0	Manchester City	Liverpool
20:00 BST	Carroll   13', 35' Aurélio   27' Kuyt   34'	Report		Stadium: Anfield Attendance: 44,776 Referee: Mark Halsey

Arsenal v Liverpool

17 April 2011 33	Arsenal	1–1	Liverpool	London
16:00 BST	Van Persie   90+8' (pen.),   90+8' Eboué   90+10'	Report	Flanagan   30' Škrtel   34' Shelvey   76' Lucas   90+10' Kuyt   90+12' (pen.)	Stadium: Emirates Stadium Attendance: 60,029 Referee: Andre Marriner

Liverpool v Birmingham City

23 April 2011 34	Liverpool	5–0	Birmingham City	Liverpool
15:00 BST	Rodríguez   7', 66', 73' Kuyt   23' Cole   85'	Report		Stadium: Anfield Attendance: 44,734 Referee: Howard Webb

Liverpool v Newcastle United

1 May 2011 35	Liverpool	3–0	Newcastle United	Liverpool
12:00 BST	Rodríguez   10' Kuyt   59' (pen.) Suárez   65'	Report		Stadium: Anfield Attendance: 44,923 Referee: Peter Walton

Fulham v Liverpool

9 May 2011 36	Fulham	2–5	Liverpool	London
20:00 BST	Dembélé   56' Sidwell   86'	Report	Rodríguez   1', 7', 70' Kuyt   16' Suárez   75'	Stadium: Craven Cottage Attendance: 25,693 Referee: Lee Mason

Liverpool v Tottenham Hotspur

15 May 2011 37	Liverpool	0–2	Tottenham Hotspur	Liverpool
16:00 BST		Report	Van der Vaart   9' Modrić   56' (pen.)	Stadium: Anfield Attendance: 44,893 Referee: Howard Webb

Aston Villa v Liverpool

22 May 2011 38	Aston Villa	1–0	Liverpool	Birmingham
16:00 BST	Downing   33'	Report		Stadium: Villa Park Attendance: 42,785 Referee: Lee Probert

Rabotnički   v   Liverpool

29 July 2010 Q3 L1	Rabotnički	0–2	Liverpool	Skopje, Macedonia
20:45 CEST		Report	Ngog   17', 58'	Stadium: Philip II Arena Attendance: 23,000 Referee: Antonio Damato (Italy)

Liverpool   v   Rabotnički

5 August 2010 Q3 L2	Liverpool	2–0 (4–0 agg.)	Rabotnički	Liverpool
20:45 CEST	Ngog   21' Gerrard   40' (pen.)	Report		Stadium: Anfield Attendance: 31,202 Referee: Peter Sippel (Germany)

Liverpool   v   Trabzonspor

19 August 2010 PO L1	Liverpool	1–0	Trabzonspor	Liverpool
20:45 CEST	Babel   45+1'	Report		Stadium: Anfield Attendance: 40,941 Referee: Thomas Einwaller (Austria)

Trabzonspor   v   Liverpool

26 August 2010 PO L2	Trabzonspor	1–2 (1–3 agg.)	Liverpool	Trabzon, Turkey
19:30 CEST	Gutiérrez   4'	Report	Kaçar   83' (o.g.) Kuyt   88'	Stadium: Hüseyin Avni Aker Stadium Attendance: 21,065 Referee: Ivan Bebek (Croatia)

Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
Liverpool	6	2	4	0	8	3	+5	10
Napoli	6	1	4	1	8	9	−1	7
Steaua București	6	1	3	2	9	11	−2	6
Utrecht	6	0	5	1	5	7	−2	5

Liverpool   v   Steaua București

16 September 2010 GS R1	Liverpool	4–1	Steaua București	Liverpool
21:05 CEST	Cole   1' Ngog   55' (pen.), 90+1' Lucas   81'	Report	Tănase   13'	Stadium: Anfield Attendance: 25,605 Referee: César Muñiz Fernández (Spain)

Utrecht   v   Liverpool

30 September 2010 GS R2	Utrecht	0–0	Liverpool	Utrecht, Netherlands
19:00 CEST		Report		Stadium: Stadion Galgenwaard Attendance: 23,662 Referee: Duarte Gomes (Portugal)