26th March

Wembley glory
1983 - We won our third consecutive League Cup, 2-1. Norman Whiteside opened the scoring for Manchester United with the first of his four goals past us before Alan Kennedy equalised at Wembley. The game went into extra time, with our fitness proving the greater as Frank Stapleton had to come back into defence with Gordon McQueen going up front, due to cramp. Ronnie Whelan, who had scored twice in the previous season’s Final, won the game for us with a beautifully curled shot past the helpless Gary Bailey. Bob Paisley was sent up to lift the trophy in his final season as boss.

King Kenny’s centuries
1986 - Kenny Dalglish skippered Scotland while winning his hundredth cap in a 3-0 friendly defeat of Romania at Hampden Park. Alan Hansen and ex-red Graeme Souness both also played. On the same day, future red Mark Wright captained England as they beat the USSR 1-0 in a friendly in Tblisi. Fellow future red Peter Beardsley also played. Jan Mølby also turned out for his homeland that day, as Denmark held Northern Ireland to a 1-1 draw in another friendly, at Windsor Park.

1988 - Kenny secured another century when he led the reds to his hundredth victory as Manager, with John Aldridge and John Barnes striking in a 2-1 League defeat of Wimbledon at Anfield. This was Digger’s hundredth club goal, while Gary Gillespie reached a century of League appearances for the reds. Dalglish came on as a very late replacement for Aldridge, with Eric Young bagging the visitors’ consolation straight after that.

Signing on
1898 – Inside-left Hugh Morgan signed from St. Mirren for £200. He struck seventeen times in 68 reds games, top scoring in his first full season at Anfield. He also won a second Scotland cap while on our books before joining Blackburn Rovers in June 1900.
1928 – Forward Billy Millar arrived from Linfield for £1,150. He scored twice in three games before moving on to Barrow in January 1930. He went on to set a scoring record at Barrow by netting thirty goals in as many Third Division North games, as well as making his debut for Northern Ireland.

Reds on the way out
1998 - Mark Kennedy moved to Wimbledon for £1.75m, a £250,000 profit after three years with the reds since signing from Millwall. He had only made 21 senior reds appearances, without getting on the scoresheet. On the same day, Neil Ruddock joined First Division Queens Park Rangers on loan, for whom he played seven times. Meanwhile, ex-red Peter Beardsley joined Fulham on loan from Bolton Wanderers. He netted three times in ten games, and later returned for a second spell, before signing permanently for the Cottagers in November of that year.

Mixed fortunes against City
We hosted Manchester City on this day in consecutive seasons just before the Second World War.
1937 - We were thumped 5-0 with Eric Brook bagging the last three of his nine strikes past us, Alex Herd netting one of his eight goals against the reds and Peter Doherty also on target.
1938 - We won 2-0 when Ron Jones netted on his reds bow, his only goal for the club, with Jack Balmer also on target.

Triple international debutants
1986 - Future reds John Aldridge, Ray Houghton and Dean Saunders all made their full international debuts as Wales beat the Republic of Ireland in a friendly in Dublin, with Jack Charlton getting off to a losing start as Irish boss. Ian Rush bagged the only goal of the game, while Jim Beglin, Ronnie Whelan and ex-reds Joey Jones and Michael Robinson all also played. Ex-red Mike Newell and future reds Barry Venison and Mark Walters all played as England Under-21’s drew 1-1 with Denmark as they progressed to the Semi-final of the European Championships Finals at Maine Road.
1985 - Beglin and Whelan lined up alongside Mark Lawrenson as the Irish lost 2-1 to England in a friendly at Wembley, with future red Mark Wright also featuring.

Another Welsh first
1969 - Cardiff City’s John Toshack won his first senior cap as Wales drew 1-1 with West Germany in a friendly in Frankfurt.

Sunderland times three
1932 - Sunderland won at Anfield in the League for the third consecutive season, this time 2-1, with Gordon Hodgson nabbing our consolation. Outside-right Billy Eden equalised in his final game for the visitors, with Bobby Gurney bagging the winner, one of his sixteen goals against us. Brothers Jimmy and Jack McDougall captained the two sides.
2014 – We beat Sunderland 2-1 in L4 with Steven Gerrard opening the scoring with a free-kick. Daniel Sturridge struck his twentieth League goal of the campaign of the season after the break, also sending another shot onto the crossbar. Lee Cattermole hit the bar for the visitors before Ki Sung-yueng pulled a goal back to ensure a nervy finish.

Twice against the Villains and Spurs
We have twice entertained both Aston Villa and Tottenham Hotspur on this day in history, without experiencing defeat.
1904 - Robbie Robinson netted as we were held to a 1-1 draw by Villa at Anfield.
1910 - Jack Parkinson and Jimmy Stewart were on target as we beat Spurs 2-0 in our first ever meeting in L4.
1966 - Roger Hunt bagged a brace with Ian Callaghan also on the scoresheet as we won 3-0 at Villa Park.
1989 - John Aldridge converted a penalty and Peter Beardsley also struck as we won 2-1 at White Hart Lane. Terry Fenwick had opened the scoring with the last of his four goals past us. Aldo’s spot-kick was the club’s 7,000th goal in all competitions.

Big post-war Anfield wins
We won top-flight matches 4-0 at Anfield on this day in consecutive years immediately following the Second World War.
1948 - Willie Fagan nabbed a brace against Sheffield United with Billy Liddell also scoring as Albert Stubbins bagged his fiftieth goal for the club.
1949 - Stubbins netted twice past Stoke City, with Cyril Done and Jack Balmer also on target as Billy Liddell reached a century of League games for the reds as keeper Cyril Sidlow played his hundredth game for the club.

Reds on target
2019 – Roberto Firmino netted as Brazil won a friendly 3-1 in the Czech Republic, while Sadio Mané scored in Senegal’s 2-1 defeat of Mali in Dakar. Future red Luis Díaz scored his first goal for Colombia in their 2-1 friendly defeat in South Korea, while Dominic Solanke bagged his first England Under-21’s goal as a Bournemouth player as he captained the side in their 2-1 defeat by Germany at his home stadium. Future red Cody Gakpo scored his first Under-21’s goal as the Netherlands beat an Egypt Under-23 side 1-0 in Spain. Rafael Camacho won his eighth and last Under-19’s cap for Portugal as they beat Scotland 4-0 in a European Championships qualifier in Porto, with Sepp van den Berg winning his last cap as a PEC Zwolle player for the Dutch Under-19’s. Alisson Becker, Fabinho, future reds Ryan Gravenberch, Arthur Melo and Takumi Minamino, and ex-red Philippe Coutinho also played for their countries that day.
2022 - Jarell Quansah netted for England Under-19’s as they beat Armenia 4-0 in Rotherham, with James Balagizi also featuring. Xherdan Shaqiri won his first cap as a Chicago Fire player in Switzerland’s 2-1 defeat by England at Wembley. Jordan Henderson, Caoimhín Kelleher, Virgil van Dijk, future red Ben Doak and ex-reds Christian Benteke, Conor Coady, Simon Mignolet, Nikolay Mihaylov and Raheem Sterling all also played for their countries that day.

2018 – Virgil van Dijk struck his first goal for the Netherlands, captaining them as they beat Portugal 3-0 in a friendly in Geneva, with ex-red Ryan Babel also on target. Gini Wijnaldum, Harry Wilson and ex-reds Joe Allen, Sebastián Coates and Luis Suárez all also played for their countries that day as future red Dominik Szoboszlai won his eighth and last cap for Hungary Under-21’s as they lost a European Championships qualifier 3-0 in Belgium.
1980 - Future red Mark Lawrenson netted his first international goal in the Republic of Ireland’s 3-2 World Cup qualifying win in Cyprus. Steve Heighway also played, as Irish boss Johnny Giles took charge for the last time. Meanwhile, Kenny Dalglish scored in Scotland’s 4-1 European Championships qualifying win over Portugal at Hampden Park. Alan Hansen and Graeme Souness both also featured. On the same day, Emlyn Hughes won his first cap since leaving Anfield as England beat Spain 2-0 in a friendly in the Camp Nou. Ray Kennedy, Phil Neal and Phil Thompson all featured, while ex-red Kevin Keegan skippered the side as he won his fiftieth cap.

2013 – Daniel Agger converted a penalty while skippering Denmark to a 1-1 World Cup qualifying draw with Bulgaria in Copenhagen, with Nikolay Mihaylov winning his last cap as a Twente player. Future red Mario Balotelli struck twice, including a spot-kick, as Italy won a qualifier 2-0 in Malta.  Carl Medjani won his first cap as an AS Monaco player, skippering Algeria to a 3-1 World Cup defeat of Benin, while Dejan Lovren scored in his last appearance for Croatia while with Olympique Lyonnais player. Steven Gerrard, Glen Johnson, Martin Škrtel, Luis Suárez, future reds Christian Benteke, James Milner, Mohamed Salah and Dominic Solanke, and ex-reds Charlie Adam, Xabi Alonso, Álvaro Arbeloa, Craig Bellamy, Yossi Benayoun, Alexander Kacaniklic, Javier Mascherano, Raul Meireles and Nuri Sahin all also represented their countries that day.
2017 – Future red Dominik Szoboszlai scored while captaining Hungary Under-17’s in their 1-0 defeat of Norway in a European Championships qualifier. Adam Lallana, ex-red Raheem Sterling and future red Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain all featured as England beat Lithuania 2-0 in a World Cup qualifier at Wembley. Meanwhile, future red Andy Robertson featured in Scotland’s 1-0 defeat of Slovenia at Hampden Park.

Walker’s final caps
1898 - Future reds inside-right Johnny Walker won his final Scotland cap as a Heart Of Midlothian player as they beat Ireland 3-0 in the British International Championships in Belfast, and third one to date. After a four-year spell in Anfield, he moved back north to Rangers.
1904 - He made his fifth and final Scotland appearance in the same fixture, in Dublin.

A testimonial thumping
1894 - We thumped Accrington Stanley 8-0 in a testimonial match for right-back Andrew Hannah, the first one ever staged for a reds player. The game took place at Accrington’s Thorneyholme Road ground, with John Givens bagging a treble. Tom Bradshaw and Hugh McQueen both added braces, with Malcolm McVean rounding out the scoring.

Luis's bow
2005 - Luis García came off the bench to make his senior international debut in Spain’s 3-0 friendly defeat of China in Salamanca, with future red Fernando Torres converting a penalty. It was nearly a fantastic first cap for Luis as he hit the bar. Future red Ryan Babel also made his international bow, scoring as the Netherlands won a World Cup qualifier in Romania, with fellow future reds Jan Kromkamp and Dirk Kuyt also featuring. Future red Christian Poulsen bagged his first goal for his country while winning his 28th cap for Denmark as they beat Kazakhstan 3-0 in a World Cup qualifier in Copenhagen.

El-Hadji Diouf bagged a brace, including a penalty, as Senegal trounced Liberia 6-1 in Dakar, his final goals as a reds player. Milan Baroš and ex-red Jari Litmanen both netted as Finland came from 2-0 and 3-1 down to draw level with the Czech Republic, but they ultimately lost 4-3 to a late winner in Teplice. This was Jari’s 25th goal in his 95th international, while Sami Hyypiä also featured.

Ex-red Michael Owen and future red Joe Cole both struck in England’s 4-0 World Cup qualifying defeat of Northern Ireland at Old Trafford on the same day, with Owen also skippering his country for part of the game. Steven Gerrard also played, while Jerzy Dudek, Steve Finnan and future reds Craig Bellamy, Yossi Benayoun, Mark González, Robbie Keane, Ragnar Klavan and Maxi Rodríguez also featured for their countries in qualifiers that day, with John Toshack taking charge of Wales. Stéphane Henchoz won his 72nd and final cap to become Switzerland’s eighth highest all-time cap holder as they held France to a goalless draw in the Stade de France, playing alongside future red Philipp Degen. Also in action was future red Michael Nardiello, who grabbed his second and final goal as a Manchester United player for England Under-16’s as they beat Cameroon 2-1 in the Montaigu Tournament in France, with future red Daniel Sturridge also on target in his fourth and final game at this level, while future red David Martin played for England Under-19’s.

Soto twice
2003 – Sotirios Kyrgiakos played for Greece in their 2-2 friendly draw with Austria in Graz while still with Panathinaikos.
2008 – Now with Eintracht Frankfurt, he featured as they beat Portugal 2-1 in a friendly played in Dusseldorf.

Nabil off the mark
2008 - Nabil El-Zhar struck on his full debut for Morocco, coming on as a sub in their 4-1 friendly win in Belgium. On the same day, Jari Litmanen converted a spot-kick while winning his last cap as a Fulham player in Finland’s 2-1 defeat in Bulgaria. Milan Baroš played his final game for the Czech Republic while on loan at Portsmouth in their 1-1 draw with future red Christian Poulsen’s Denmark in Herning. Djibril Cissé made his first appearance for France while permanently signed with Olympique de Marseille as David Beckham won his hundredth cap in France’s 1-0 defeat of England in the Stade de France, with Peter Crouch, Steven Gerrard, future reds Joe Cole and Stewart Downing, and ex-reds Nicolas Anelka, David James and Michael Owen all also featuring, and Glen Johnson winning his first cap while with Portsmouth.

Yossi Benayoun netted the only goal of Israel’s encounter with Chile in Tel-Aviv, while Albert Riera won his final cap as an R.C.D. Espanyol player as Spain beat Italy 1-0, with Xabi Alonso and Fernando Torres also playing, and Álvaro Arbeloa making his senior bow and future red Alberto Aquilani on the losing side. Future reds loanee Nuri Şahin scored for Turkey Under-21’s in their 3-0 European Championships qualifying defeat of Liechtenstein. Also in international action were Ryan Babel, Javier Mascherano, Nikolay Mihaylov, Dani Pacheco, John Arne Riise, Martin Škrtel, Andriy Voronin and future reds Joe Allen, Fabio Borini, Milan Jovanović, Ragnar Klavan, Raul Meireles, Simon Mignolet, Maxi Rodríguez and Kolo Touré, with John Toshack taking charge of Wales.

Other reds games
1994 – Paul Merson struck the only goal of our trip to Arsenal, one of his seven goals against the reds.
1955 – We drew a Second Division fixture 2-2 at Hull City. Viggo Jensen converted a penalty either side of goals from Eric Anderson and John Evans.
1927 – We lost 1-0 at Huddersfield Town with Billy Smith nabbing one of his four goals past us.
1921 – Dick Forshaw netted as we drew 1-1 at Blackburn Rovers in an Easter Saturday game.
1898 – Andrew McCowie and Frank Becton scored as we won 2-0 at Bury.

Young Hungarians in action
2006 - Future reds reserves forward Krisztián Németh played for Hungary Under-17’s as they drew 1-1 in Portugal in the Elite Round of European Championships qualifiers in Viseu.
2007 - András Simon bagged a brace as they beat Finland 3-2 at the same stage in Périgny in France.

2016 - Krisztián Németh won his first senior cap as an Al-Gharafa player in Hungary’s 1-1 friendly draw with Croatia in Budapest, with Ádám Bogdán playing for the only time while at Anfield. On the same day, Roy Hodgson’s England drew beat Germany 3-2 in Berlin, with Emre Can, Nathaniel Clyne, Jordan Henderson and Adam Lallana all featuring. Meanwhile, Jordon Ibe was sent off for England Under-21’s in their 1-1 European Championships qualifying draw in Switzerland, winning his fourth and last cap at this level, with future red Dominic Solanke also featuring and Sheyi Ojo turning out for the Under-19’s and Southampton’s Sadio Mané playing for Senegal in an Africa Cup of Nations qualifier while ex-Academy Manager Steve Cooper took charge of England Under-17’s.
2014 – Solanke scored for England Under-17’s as they won a European Championships qualifier 1-0 in the Czech Republic, with fellow future red Joe Gomez also playing. Meanwhile, Corey Whelan featured for the Republic of Ireland Under-17’s.

1996 – Future red Alex Manninger played for Austria Under-21’s in their 3-0 friendly defeat in Switzerland.
1999 – He played again, this time in a 4-0 European Championships qualifying defeat in Spain. Jamie Carragher, Frode Kippe and future red John Arne Riise also featured at this level that day.

First reds caps
1980 - Avi Cohen won his first cap as a reds player, and seventeenth in total, as Israel were held to a goalless draw by Northern Ireland in Tel-Aviv. On the same day, Alan Kennedy played in his first England B international since arriving at Anfield as they beat their Spanish counterparts 1-0 at Roker Park. Future reds goalkeeping coach Joe Corrigan also played.
2002 - Future reds centre-forward Peter Crouch made his debut for England Under-21’s as they drew 1-1 with Italy in Bradford, with reds defender Stephen Wright and future red Jermaine Pennant also featuring. This was Crouch’s only cap as a Portsmouth player, as he joined Aston Villa the following day. Futured reds Xabi Alonso, Djibril Cissé and Pepe Reina all played for their countries at the same level that day.

2011 – Brad Smith won his first cap for England Under-17’s in their 3-2 European Championships qualifying defeat of Northern Ireland in Belgium, with Adam Morgan also featuring. On the same day, ex-red Robbie Keane won his first cap while on loan at West Ham United, netting as captain as the Republic of Ireland beat FYR Macedonia 2-1 in a Euro 2012 qualifier in Dublin. Future red Samed Yeşil scored for Germany Under-17’s in their 2-0 European Championships qualifying win over Ukraine in Dusseldorf. Daniel Agger, Glen Johnson, Raul Meireles, Christian Poulsen, Martin Škrtel, future reds Stewart Downing, Dejan Lovren and James Milner, and ex-reds Craig Bellamy, Javier Mascherano, Nikolay Mihaylov and John Arne Riise were also in international action that day.
2015 - Mohamed Salah won his first cap while on loan at Fiorentina from Chelsea as Egypt beat Equatorial Guinea 2-0 in a friendly in Cairo. Mamadou Sakho faced future red Roberto Firmino in a friendly in Paris as Brazil beat France 3-1. Future reds keeper Caoimhín Kelleher featured for the Irish Under-17’s as they lost a European Championships qualifier in Poland, with Tiago Ilori, Javier Manquillo, Sheyi Ojo, ex-red Carl Medjani and future reds Joe Gomez, Marko Grujić and Dominic Solanke also playing for their countries at junior level.

Off on loan
2015 – Forward Jack Dunn joined Burton Albion on loan, only making one senior appearance for the Brewers.
2014 – Forward Nathan Eccleston joined Coventry City on loan from Blackpool, failing to score in eight outings for the Sky Blues. On the same day, Harry Kewell announced his retirement from playing at the end of the season.
2009 – Young defender Martin Kelly moved to Huddersfield Town until the end of the season, whose Assistant Manager was reds legend Terry McDermott. He struck once in seven outings for the Terriers as they missed out on the League One play-offs.
1987 - Future reds loanee keeper Mark Prudhoe joined Grimsby Town on loan from Walsall. He played eight times for the Mariners as they were relegated from the old Second Division.

Signing on
1999 – Keeper Brad Jones signed as a professional for Middlesbrough, aged seventeen. He went on to play 75 senior games for Boro before moving to Anfield for £2.3m in August 2010.
2015 - Young midfielder Jordan Lussey joined Bolton Wanderers on loan, signing on permanently four months later, while Kevin Stewart moved to Burton Albion on a temporary basis, netting twice in seven outings, including grabbing the goal that secured the League Two title. On the same day, former substitute keeper Tony Warner joined Accrington Stanley, while remaining a coach at Bolton. Meanwhile, ex-reds midfielder Danny Guthrie joined Fulham on loan from Reading, turning out six times for the Cottagers.

Also in international action
1952 – Keeper Charlie Ashcroft played for England B as they beat their Dutch counterparts 1-0 in Amsterdam.
1988 – Future red István Kozma played in Hungary’s 3-0 friendly defeat in Belgium.
1991 – Future red custodian David James featured as England Under-21’s beat the Republic of Ireland 3-0 in a European Championships qualifier in Brentford.
1997 – Future red Haukur Ignu Guðnason played for Iceland Under-19’s as they drew 2-2 with the USA in the Italy Tournament.

2003 – Roma’s Alberto Aquilani played as Italy Under-19’s beat the Czech Republic 3-0.
2021 – Sadio Mané featured for Senegal in their goalless Africa Cup of Nations qualifier in Congo, while Morgan Boyes represented Wales Under-21’s as they lost 2-1 to the Republic of Ireland in a friendly in Wrexham.
2023 – Jordan Henderson played in England’s 2-0 European Championships qualifying defeat of Ukraine at Wembley, with Diogo Jota playing in Portugal’s 6-0 thumping of Luxembourg and Conor Bradley featuring for Northern Ireland as they lost another qualifier 1-0 to Finland at Windsor Park. Owen Beck was also in international action.