2001–02 Liverpool F.C. season

Liverpool
2001–02 season
Chairman David Moores
Manager Gérard Houllier
Phil Thompson (interim 13 October 2001 - 18 March 2002)
Premier League 2nd
FA Cup Fourth round
League Cup Third round
Champions League Quarter-finals
UEFA Super Cup Winners
Top goalscorer League:
Michael Owen (19)
All:
Michael Owen (28)
Average home league attendance 41,770[1]
Home colours
Away colours
Third colours

The 2001–02 season was the 111th season in Liverpool F.C.'s existence.

Season summary

Having finished the previous season in third place in the Premiership, as well as winning an unprecedented treble of the League, FA and UEFA Cups, hopes were high for Liverpool going into the new season. However, fixture congestion meant that Liverpool could only play six games, taking 12 points to stand in sixth place, before Gérard Houllier was forced to go to hospital after falling ill during a game against Leeds United. It was later discovered that Houllier was suffering from a heart condition and was forced to take a five-month period of convalescene, with assistant manager Phil Thompson stepping up to take over caretaker responsibilities. In spite of this crisis, Liverpool climbed to fourth at the end of October before topping the Premier League table at the end of November, with a two-point lead over second-placed Leeds while holding a game in hand. November also saw the sale of fan favourite striker Robbie Fowler to Leeds.

Liverpool kept their lead until 17 December, when Newcastle United overtook Liverpool at the top by virtue of goals scored (30 vs 25). During the month, French striker Nicolas Anelka was signed on loan from Paris Saint-Germain until the end of the campaign as a replacement for Fowler. By the end of December, Liverpool were back to fourth (albeit with the game still in hand and a margin of only two points between them and leaders Arsenal). However, Liverpool failed to take advantage of their extra game and at the end of January were still two points off the top (Manchester United now the league leaders), although they did defeat the Red Devils 1–0 at Old Trafford. This gap increased to four points by the end of February, despite a 4–0 win away to Leeds, but Houllier's return in March coincided with an upturn of form that saw Liverpool reach the Champions League quarter-finals and reclaim top place in the Premiership with five matches left to play, although fellow title challengers Arsenal had two games in hand. Arsenal, in the midst of a twelve-match winning streak, soon overhauled Liverpool and sealed the title with a 2–0 win at Bolton Wanderers. However, on the flip side Arsenal also defeated Manchester United during this winning run, allowing Liverpool to take runners-up spot with a 5–0 home win over Ipswich Town.

The 2001–02 season was the first in which Liverpool had competed in the UEFA Champions League, and their first campaign in Europe's premier club competition (previously the European Cup) since the 1984–85 season. Liverpool topped their group in the first stage, and also progressed through the second group stage, before being knocked out into the quarter-finals by eventual finalists Bayer Leverkusen, 4–3 on aggregate.

During the close season, Houllier turned down the opportunity to sign Anelka, in favour of signing temperamental Senegalese striker El Hadji Diouf, following the latter's role in Senegal's World Cup campaign. For the fifth consecutive season, Michael Owen finished the campaign as the Reds' top goalscorer, with 28 goals in all competitions (19 in the league).

Competition Result Top scorer
Premier League 2nd England Michael Owen, 19
Champions League Quarter-finals England Michael Owen, 5
FA Cup Fourth round England Michael Owen, 2
League Cup Third round Scotland Gary McAllister, 1
Charity Shield Winners England Michael Owen, 1
Scotland Gary McAllister, 1
UEFA Super Cup Winners England Emile Heskey, 1
England Michael Owen, 1
Norway John Arne Riise, 1
Overall England Michael Owen, 28

First-team squad

Squad at end of season

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player
2 Switzerland DF Stéphane Henchoz
3 Portugal DF Abel Xavier
4 Finland DF Sami Hyypiä
5 Czech Republic FW Milan Baroš
6 Germany DF Markus Babbel
7 Czech Republic MF Vladimír Šmicer
8 England FW Emile Heskey
9 France FW Nicolas Anelka (on loan from Paris Saint-Germain)
10 England FW Michael Owen
11 England MF Jamie Redknapp
12 Poland GK Jerzy Dudek
13 England MF Danny Murphy
15 Czech Republic MF Patrik Berger
16 Germany MF Dietmar Hamann
No. Position Player
17 England MF Steven Gerrard
18 Norway DF John Arne Riise
19 France GK Pegguy Arphexad
20 England MF Nick Barmby
21 Scotland MF Gary McAllister
22 England GK Chris Kirkland
23 England DF Jamie Carragher
24 France MF Bernard Diomède
25 Croatia DF Igor Bišćan
27 France DF Grégory Vignal
29 England DF Stephen Wright
30 France DF Djimi Traoré[2]
37 Finland FW Jari Litmanen

Left club during season

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player
1 Netherlands GK Sander Westerveld (to Real Sociedad)
9 England FW Robbie Fowler (to Leeds United)
31 Norway DF Frode Kippe (to Lillestrøm SK)
No. Position Player
32 England FW John Miles (to Stoke City)
33 England MF Alan Navarro (to Tranmere Rovers)

Reserve squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player
14 Norway DF Vegard Heggem
26 Denmark GK Jørgen Nielsen
28 Republic of Ireland MF Richie Partridge
34 Finland FW Daniel Sjölund
England DF Steve McNulty
No. Position Player
England DF Jon Otsemobor
England DF Stephen Warnock
England MF Mark Peers
England MF John Welsh
England FW Neil Mellor

Statistics

Player statistics

As of 25 May 2002
No. Pos Nat Player TotalPremier League FA Cup League Cup Champions League UEFA Super Cup
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
1 GK Netherlands Sander Westerveld 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2 DF Switzerland Stéphane Henchoz 54 0 37 0 2 0 0 0 15 0
3 DF Portugal Abel Xavier 15 2 9+1 1 0 0 0 0 5 1
4 DF Finland Sami Hyypiä 55 4 37 3 2 0 1 0 15 1
5 FW Czech Republic Milan Baroš 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0+1 0
6 DF Germany Markus Babbel 4 1 2 0 0 0 0 1 1+1 0
7 MF Czech Republic Vladimír Šmicer 35 6 13+9 4 1 0 1 0 8+3 2
8 FW England Emile Heskey 54 13 26+9 9 1+1 0 0+1 0 16 4
9 FW England Robbie Fowler 16 4 8+2 3 0 0 0 0 2+4 1
9 FW France Nicolas Anelka 22 5 13+7 4 2 1 0 0 0 0
10 FW England Michael Owen 39 26 23+4 19 2 2 0 0 10 5
11 MF England Jamie Redknapp 8 2 2+2 1 0 0 0+1 0 1+2 1
12 GK Poland Jerzy Dudek 49 0 35 0 2 0 0 0 12 0
13 MF England Danny Murphy 54 8 31+5 6 1+1 0 1 0 13+2 2
15 MF Czech Republic Patrik Berger 30 1 12+9 1 0+1 0 0 0 1+7 0
16 MF Germany Dietmar Hamann 46 1 31 1 2 0 1 0 12 0
17 MF England Steven Gerrard 46 8 28+2 7 2 0 0 0 13+1 1
18 DF Norway John Arne Riise 53 6 34+3 6 2 0 0 0 13+1 0
19 GK France Pegguy Arphexad 4 0 1+1 0 0 0 0 0 2 0
20 MF England Nick Barmby 11 0 2+4 0 0 0 1 0 3+1 0
21 MF Scotland Gary McAllister 36 0 14+11 0 0 0 1 0 4+6 0
22 GK England Chris Kirkland 4 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 2 0
23 DF England Jamie Carragher 51 0 33 0 2 0 1 0 15 0
24 MF France Bernard Diomède 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
25 MF Croatia Igor Bišćan 8 0 4+1 0 0 0 0 0 1+2 0
27 DF France Gregory Vignal 9 0 3+1 0 0 0 1 0 4 0
29 DF England Stephen Wright 17 1 10+2 0 1 0 1 0 2+1 1
30 DF France Djimi Traoré 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
31 DF Norway Frode Kippe 1 0 0 0 0 0 0+1 0 0 0
37 FW Finland Jari Litmanen 32 7 8+13 4 0+1 0 1 0 4+5 3
  • Source:

Transfers

In

# Pos Player From Fee Date
18 DFNorway John Arne Riise France AS Monaco £4,000,000 20 June 2001[3]
5 FWCzech Republic Milan Baroš Czech Republic Baník Ostrava £3,200,000 26 July 2001[4]
22 GKEngland Chris Kirkland England Coventry City Undisclosed (estimated £6,000,000) 31 August 2001[5]
12 GKPoland Jerzy Dudek Netherlands Feyenoord £4,850,000 31 August 2001[6]
9 FWFrance Nicolas Anelka France Paris Saint-Germain Loan 20 December 2001[7]
3 DFPortugal Abel Xavier England Everton £750,000 30 January 2002[8]

Out

# Pos Player To Fee Date
3 DFGermany Christian Ziege England Tottenham Hotspur £4,000,000 17 July 2001
9 FWEngland Robbie Fowler England Leeds United £12,750,000 29 November 2001
1 GKNetherlands Sander Westerveld Spain Real Sociedad £3,750,000 17 December 2001
21 MFScotland Gary McAllister England Coventry City Free 14 April 2002
11 MFEngland Jamie Redknapp England Tottenham Hotspur Free 16 April 2002
9 FWFrance Nicolas Anelka France Paris Saint-Germain Loan expired 12 May 2002

Results

Pre-season and friendlies

Date Opponents H / A Result

F–A

Scorers
10 July 2001 Bayer Leverkusen A 3–2 Owen 41', Heskey 46', Redknapp 87'
16 July 2001 Singapore XI A 2–0 Heskey 42', Owen 85'
19 July 2001 Thailand A 3–0 Owen (2) 8', 44', Barmby 64'
26 July 2001 Valencia N 1–0 Litmanen 84'
28 July 2001 Ajax A 1–3 Fowler 38'
3 August 2001 Wolverhampton Wanderers A 3–0 Hyypia 27', Hamann 32', Fowler 57'

FA Charity Shield

UEFA Super Cup

Premier League

FA Cup

League Cup

Champions League

Third qualifying round

First group stage

Second group stage

Quarter-finals

References

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