1972–73 Liverpool F.C. season

After seven years of not winning any trophies Liverpool F.C. won both the Football League and the UEFA Cup in an extremely successful season, the highlight of Bill Shankly's managerial career. The rebuilding of the team from the one that served so well in the 1960s that had been fully realised.

Liverpool F.C.
1972–73 season
Chairman H.E. Roberts
Manager Bill Shankly
First DivisionChampions
UEFA CupWinners
FA CupFourth round
League CupFifth round
Top goalscorerLeague: Kevin Keegan (13)
John Toshack (13)
All: Kevin Keegan (22)
Average home league attendance48,103

The league which they came so close to winning the year before, had finally been conquered by winning the title by three points from Arsenal. The signing of Peter Cormack from Nottingham Forest during the summer of 1972 would also be another great signing. On 30 December 1972 Liverpool beat Crystal Palace at Anfield to make it 21 consecutive home wins in the league.[1] This was the longest run in English top-flight history until it was surpassed by Jürgen Klopp’s Liverpool who made it 22 consecutive home wins in March 2020.[2]

The UEFA Cup would also be the beginning of their dominance of regularly winning European trophies as well. Overcoming the previous season's winners Tottenham Hotspur in the Semi-Finals and over a two legged final overcoming Borussia Mönchengladbach three-two on aggregate.

The emergence of Kevin Keegan and Ray Clemence in the team would also see them start their international careers, with them both making their England debuts in the World Cup qualifier against Wales on 15 November 1972 alongside Emlyn Hughes already established in the England team.

Squad

Goalkeepers

Defenders

Midfielders

Attackers

League table
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GR Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Liverpool (C) 42 25 10 7 72 42 1.714 60 Qualified for the European Cup
2 Arsenal[lower-alpha 1] 42 23 11 8 57 43 1.326 57
3 Leeds United 42 21 11 10 71 45 1.578 53 Qualified for the UEFA Cup
4 Ipswich Town 42 17 14 11 55 45 1.222 48
5 Wolverhampton Wanderers 42 18 11 13 66 54 1.222 47
Source:
(C) League champions.
Notes:
  1. Arsenal were not eligible for the UEFA Cup, because Tottenham had qualified by winning the League Cup. The Football League continued to enforce the old Inter-Cities Fairs Cup rule that only one team per city could compete,[3] although UEFA had not carried the rule over.

Results

First Division
Main article: 1972–73 Football League § First Division
Date Opponents Venue Result Scorers Attendance Report 1 Report 2
12-Aug-72Manchester CityH2–0Hall  3' Callaghan  84'55,383ReportReport
15-Aug-72Manchester UnitedH2–0Toshack  12' Heighway  20'54,779ReportReport
19-Aug-72Crystal PalaceA1–1Hughes  75'30,054ReportReport
23-Aug-72ChelseaA2–1Toshack  3' Callaghan  13'35,375ReportReport
26-Aug-72West Ham UnitedH3–2Toshack  44' Own Goal  62' Hughes  64'50,491ReportReport
30-Aug-72Leicester CityA2–3Toshack  8', 16'28,694ReportReport
02-Sep-72Derby CountyA1–2Toshack  16'32,524ReportReport
09-Sep-72Wolverhampton WanderersH4–2Hughes  28' Cormack  76' Smith  80 Pen' Keegan  84'43,386ReportReport
16-Sep-72ArsenalA0–047,597ReportReport
23-Sep-72Sheffield UnitedH5–0Boersma  28' Lindsay  31' Heighway  33' Cormack  51' Keegan  54 Pen'42,940ReportReport
30-Sep-72Leeds UnitedA2–1Lloyd  40' Boersma  65'46,648ReportReport
07-Oct-72EvertonH1–0Cormack  77'55,975ReportReport
14-Oct-72SouthamptonA1–1Lawler  40'24,110ReportReport
21-Oct-72Stoke CityH2–1Hughes  66' Callaghan  90'45,604ReportReport
28-Oct-72Norwich CityA1–1Cormack  18'36,625ReportReport
04-Nov-72ChelseaH3–1Toshack  33', 55' Keegan  50'48,392ReportReport
11-Nov-72Manchester UnitedA0–253,944ReportReport
18-Nov-72Newcastle UnitedH3–2Cormack  5' Lindsay  35' Toshack  48'46,153ReportReport
25-Nov-72Tottenham HotspurA2–1Heighway  28' Keegan  40'45,399ReportReport
02-Dec-72Birmingham CityH4–3Lindsay  32', 55' Cormack  44' Toshack  77'45,407ReportReport
09-Dec-72West Bromwich AlbionA1–1Boersma  21'27,213ReportReport
16-Dec-72Ipswich TownA1–1Heighway  24'25,693ReportReport
23-Dec-72Coventry CityH2–0Toshack  6', 22'41,550ReportReport
26-Dec-72Sheffield UnitedA3–0Boersma  27' Lawler  50' Heighway  81'34,040ReportReport
30-Dec-72Crystal PalaceH1–0Cormack  66'50,862ReportReport
06-Jan-73West Ham UnitedA1–0Keegan  75'34,480ReportReport
20-Jan-73Derby CountyH1–1Toshack  23'45,996ReportReport
27-Jan-73Wolverhampton WanderersA1–2Keegan  17'32,957ReportReport
10-Feb-73ArsenalH0–249,898ReportReport
17-Feb-73Manchester CityA1–1Boersma  77'40,528ReportReport
24-Feb-73Ipswich TownH2–1Heighway  67' Keegan  80'43,875ReportReport
03-Mar-73EvertonA2–0Hughes  80', 88'54,269ReportReport
10-Mar-73SouthamptonH3–2Lloyd  37' Keegan  37', 87'41,674ReportReport
17-Mar-73Stoke CityA1–0Own Goal  65'33,540ReportReport
24-Mar-73Norwich CityH3–1Lawler  50' Hughes  55' Hall  88'42,995ReportReport
31-Mar-73Tottenham HotspurH1–1Keegan  70'48,477ReportReport
07-Apr-73Birmingham CityA1–2Smith  60'48,114ReportReport
14-Apr-73West Bromwich AlbionH1–0Keegan  14 Pen'43,853ReportReport
17-Apr-73Coventry CityA2–1Boersma  36', 60'27,280ReportReport
21-Apr-73Newcastle UnitedA1–2Keegan  24'37,240ReportReport
23-Apr-73Leeds UnitedH2–0Cormack  47' Keegan  85'55,738ReportReport
28-Apr-73Leicester CityH0–056,202ReportReport

Football League Cup
Main article: 1972–73 Football League Cup
Date Opponents Venue Result Scorers Attendance Report 1 Report 2
05-Sep-72Carlisle UnitedA1–1Keegan  42'16,257ReportReport
19-Sep-72Carlisle UnitedH5–1Keegan  37' Boersma  39', 82' Lawler  73' Heighway  86'22,128ReportReport
03-Oct-72West Bromwich AlbionA1–1Heighway  86'17,756ReportReport
10-Oct-72West Bromwich AlbionH2–1Hughes  62' Keegan  120'26,461ReportReport
31-Oct-72Leeds UnitedH2–2Keegan  31' Toshack  80'44,609ReportReport
22-Nov-72Leeds UnitedA1–0Keegan  90'34,856ReportReport
04-Dec-72Tottenham HotspurH1–1Hughes  78'48,677ReportReport
06-Dec-72Tottenham HotspurA1–3Callaghan  85'34,565ReportReport

FA Cup
Main article: 1972–73 FA Cup
Date Opponents Venue Result Scorers Attendance Report 1 Report 2
13-Jan-73BurnleyA0–035,730ReportReport
16-Jan-73BurnleyH3–0Toshack  31', 49' Cormack  47'56,124ReportReport
03-Feb-73Manchester CityH0–056,296ReportReport
07-Feb-73Manchester CityA0–249,572ReportReport

UEFA Cup
Main article: 1972–73 UEFA Cup
Date Opponents Venue Result Scorers Attendance Report 1 Report 2
12-Sep-72Eintracht FrankfurtH2–0Keegan  12' Hughes  75'33,380ReportReport
26-Sep-72Eintracht FrankfurtA0–017,500ReportReport
24-Oct-72AEK AthensH3–0Boersma  9' Cormack  28' Smith  78 Pen'31,906ReportReport
07-Nov-72AEK AthensA3–1Hughes  18', 44' Boersma  87'19,412ReportReport
29-Nov-72Dynamo BerlinA0–015,835ReportReport
13-Dec-72Dynamo BerlinH3–1Boersma  1' Heighway  25' Toshack  56'34,140ReportReport
07-Mar-73Dynamo DresdenH2–0Hall  25' Boersma  60'33,270ReportReport
21-Mar-73Dynamo DresdenA1–0Keegan  53'33,634ReportReport
10-Apr-73Tottenham HotspurH1–0Lindsay  17'42,174ReportReport
25-Apr-73Tottenham HotspurA1–2Heighway  55'46,919ReportReport

Final

First Leg

Liverpool 3–0 Borussia Mönchengladbach
Keegan  21', 32'
Lloyd  61'		 Report
Report
Attendance: 41,169
Liverpool
Borussia Mönchengladbach
GK1 Ray Clemence
RB2 Chris Lawler
LB3 Alec Lindsay
CM4 Tommy Smith (c)
CB5 Larry Lloyd
CB6 Emlyn Hughes
ST7 Kevin Keegan
CM8 Peter Cormack
ST9 John Toshack
LW10 Steve Heighway 83'
RW11 Ian Callaghan
Substitutes:
MF12 Brian Hall 83'
GK13 Frankie Lane
DF14 Trevor Storton
DF15 Phil Thompson
FW16 Phil Boersma
Manager:
Bill Shankly
GK1 Wolfgang Kleff
RB2 Heinz Michallik
CB3 Günter Netzer
CB4 Rainer Bonhof
LB5 Berti Vogts (c)
MF6 Herbert Wimmer
MF7 Dietmar Danner
MF8 Christian Kulik
FW9 Henning Jensen
FW10 Bernd Rupp 82'
FW11 Jupp Heynckes
Substitutes:
FW12 Allan Simonsen 82'
Manager:
Hennes Weisweiler

Second Leg

Borussia Mönchengladbach 2–0 Liverpool
Heynckes  29', 40' Report
Report
Attendance: 34,905
Referee: Pavel Kazakov (Soviet Union)
Borussia Mönchengladbach
Liverpool
GK1 Wolfgang Kleff
RB2 Ulrich Surau
CB3 Günter Netzer
CB4 Rainer Bonhof
LB5 Berti Vogts (c)
MF6 Herbert Wimmer
MF7 Dietmar Danner
MF8 Christian Kulik
FW9 Henning Jensen
FW10 Bernd Rupp
FW11 Jupp Heynckes
Substitutes:
FW12 Allan Simonsen
DF13 Heinz Michallik
DF14 Klaus-Dieter Sieloff
GK15 Bernd Schrage
Manager:
Hennes Weisweiler
GK1 Ray Clemence
RB2 Chris Lawler
LB3 Alec Lindsay
CM4 Tommy Smith (c)
CB5 Larry Lloyd
CB6 Emlyn Hughes
ST7 Kevin Keegan
CM8 Peter Cormack
ST9 John Toshack
LW10 Steve Heighway 77'
RW11 Ian Callaghan
Substitutes:
MF12 Brian Hall
GK13 Frankie Lane
DF14 Trevor Storton
DF15 Phil Thompson
FW16 Phil Boersma 77'
Manager:
Bill Shankly

References
  1. "In numbers: How Klopp and Shankly won 21 home games in a row". Liverpool F.C. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
  2. "Salah and Milner reaction: 'We showed our mentality to win'". Liverpool FC. Retrieved 7 March 2020.
  3. Wilson, Jonathan (10 November 2011). Brian Clough: Nobody Ever Says Thank You: The Biography. Orion. p. 3. ISBN 9781409123187. Retrieved 27 June 2013.
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