2002–03 Liverpool F.C. season

Liverpool
2002–03 season
ChairmanDavid Moores
ManagerGérard Houllier
Premier League5th
FA CupFourth round
League CupWinners
UEFA Champions LeagueGroup stage
UEFA CupQuarter-finals
FA Community ShieldRunners-up
Top goalscorerLeague: Michael Owen (19)
All: Michael Owen (28)
Average home league attendance42,768

The 2002–2003 season was Liverpool Football Club's 111th season in existence and their 41st consecutive season in the top-flight of English football.

Season summary

Having finished second the previous season, Liverpool had high hopes to win their first league title since 1990. Indeed, they topped the Premier League table after their first 12 games (including a seven-game winning streak), picking up 30 points out of a possible 36, a run which saw them four points clear at the top from reigning champions Arsenal. However, on 9 November 2002, they suffered a surprise 1–0 away defeat at the hands of high-fliers Middlesbrough. This wasn't completely disastrous; it did see their lead cut to one point but three days later, they completed a miserable week after they bowed out of the Champions League after failure to beat Basel. That week's two results started a freefall of 13 matches without victory (including 11 league games) and a dismal run of only two wins in 16 league matches (both away at Southampton and West Ham United) which ended such title hopes. They were, in fact, out of the top four, altogether never to return after a shock 2–1 defeat at struggling Sunderland. However, their first home league win in four months came in a 2–0 win over Bolton Wanderers on 8 March 2003, starting a more promising run of seven wins in eight league games which almost took the club to Champions League qualification anyway, but defeats at the hands of Manchester City and Chelsea in the final two games of the season buried those hopes. A League Cup win following a 2–0 victory over arch-rivals Manchester United was the sole glorious moment of a disappointing season.[1]

Competition Result Top scorer
Premier League 5th Michael Owen, 19
Champions League First group stage Michael Owen, 4
UEFA Cup Quarter-finals Michael Owen, 3
FA Cup Fourth round Danny Murphy, 1
League Cup Winners El Hadji Diouf, 3
Overall Michael Owen, 28

First-team squad

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK  POL Jerzy Dudek
2 DF  SUI Stéphane Henchoz
3 DF  POR Abel Xavier[notes 1]
4 DF  FIN Sami Hyypiä (captain)
5 FW  CZE Milan Baroš
6 DF  GER Markus Babbel
7 MF  CZE Vladimír Šmicer
8 FW  ENG Emile Heskey
9 FW  SEN El Hadji Diouf
10 FW  ENG Michael Owen
13 MF  ENG Danny Murphy
14 DF  NOR Vegard Heggem
15 MF  CZE Patrik Berger
16 MF  GER Dietmar Hamann
17 MF  ENG Steven Gerrard
18 DF  NOR John Arne Riise
19 GK  GLP Pegguy Arphexad
21 MF  SEN Salif Diao
No. Pos. Nation Player
22 GK  ENG Chris Kirkland
23 DF  ENG Jamie Carragher
24 MF  FRA Bernard Diomède
25 MF  CRO Igor Bišćan
26 MF  IRL Richie Partridge
27 DF  FRA Grégory Vignal
28 MF  FRA Bruno Cheyrou
30 DF  FRA Djimi Traoré[notes 2]
31 DF  FRA Alou Diarra
32 MF  ENG John Welsh
33 FW  ENG Neil Mellor
34 MF  FIN Daniel Sjölund
35 DF  ENG Stephen Warnock
36 DF  ENG Jon Otsemobor
38 MF  IRL Michael Foley-Sheridan
39 GK  FRA Patrice Luzi
40 MF  SCO Robbie Foy

Left club during season

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
20 MF  ENG Nick Barmby (to Leeds United)
29 DF  ENG Stephen Wright (to Sunderland)
No. Pos. Nation Player
37 MF  FIN Jari Litmanen (to Ajax)

Statistics

Appearances

As of end of season[2]
No. Pos Nat Player Total Premier League FA Cup League Cup Champions League
UEFA Cup
Community Shield
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
1 GK  POL Jerzy Dudek 46 0 30 0 1+1 0 2 0 11 0 1 0
2 DF  SUI Stéphane Henchoz 32 0 19 0 2 0 4 0 6 0 1 0
3 DF  POR Abel Xavier 6 0 4 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0
4 DF  FIN Sami Hyypiä 56 5 36 3 3 0 4 0 12 2 1 0
5 FW  CZE Milan Baroš 42 12 17+10 9 0+1 0 2+2 2 3+6 1 0+1 0
6 DF  GER Markus Babbel 7 0 2 0 0 0 3 0 1 0 0+1 0
7 MF  CZE Vladimír Šmicer 34 1 10+11 0 1 0 4+1 0 3+3 1 0+1 0
8 FW  ENG Emile Heskey 51 10 22+10 6 2 1 2+3 0 10+1 3 1 0
9 FW  SEN El Hadji Diouf 47 6 21+8 3 3 0 5 3 5+4 0 1 0
10 FW  ENG Michael Owen 54 28 32+3 19 2 0 3+1 2 11+1 7 1 0
13 MF  ENG Danny Murphy 55 12 36 7 3 1 4 2 11 2 0+1 0
15 MF  CZE Patrik Berger 4 1 0+2 0 0 0 1 1 0+1 0 0 0
16 MF  GER Dietmar Hamann 42 2 29+1 2 1 0 1 0 7+2 0 1 0
17 MF  ENG Steven Gerrard 54 7 32+2 5 2 0 6 2 11 0 1 0
18 DF  NOR John Arne Riise 55 7 31+6 6 2 1 4 0 10+1 0 1 0
21 MF  SEN Salif Diao 40 2 13+13 1 1+1 0 6+3 1 2+1 0 0 0
22 GK  ENG Chris Kirkland 15 0 8 0 2 0 4 0 1 0 0 0
23 DF  ENG Jamie Carragher 54 0 34+1 0 3 0 9+2 0 5 0 0 0
25 MF  CRO Igor Bišćan 13 0 3+3 0 0+1 0 2+2 0 0+2 0 0 0
27 DF  FRA Gregory Vignal 5 0 0+1 0 1 0 2 0 0+1 0 0 0
28 MF  FRA Bruno Cheyrou 29 1 8+11 0 2 0 1+1 0 3+2 1 0+1 0
30 DF  FRA Djimi Traoré 49 0 30+2 0 2 0 2+1 0 10+1 0 1 0
32 MF  ENG John Welsh 1 0 0 0 0 0 0+1 0 0 0 0 0
33 FW  ENG Neil Mellor 6 1 1+2 0 1 0 2 1 0 0 0 0
36 DF  ENG Jon Otsemobor 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0
  • Source:

Transfers

In

# Pos Player From Fee Date
28 MF Bruno Cheyrou Lille £3,700,000 16 May 2002[3]
9 FW El Hadji Diouf Lens £10,000,000 1 June 2002
MF Alou Diarra Bayern Munich Free 9 July 2002[4]
39 GK Patrice Luzi Monaco Free 29 July 2002
21 MF Salif Diao Sedan £4,700,000 6 August 2002[5]

Out

# Pos Player To Fee Date
21 GK Jørgen Nielsen Nordsjælland Free 1 July 2002
20 MF Nick Barmby Leeds United £3,750,000 8 August 2002[6]
29 DF Stephen Wright Sunderland £1,500,000 15 August 2002[7]
37 MF Jari Litmanen Ajax Free 30 August 2002[8]
  • In: £18,400,000
  • Out: £5,250,000
  • Total spending: £13,150,000

Competitions

Premier League

League table

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
3 Newcastle United 38 21 6 11 63 48 +15 69 Qualification for the Champions League third qualifying round
4 Chelsea 38 19 10 9 68 38 +30 67
5 Liverpool 38 18 10 10 61 41 +20 64 Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round[a]
6 Blackburn Rovers 38 16 12 10 52 43 +9 60
7 Everton 38 17 8 13 48 49 −1 59
Source: Premier League
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
Notes:
  1. ^ Since Liverpool qualified for the UEFA Cup via the league, their place in the UEFA Cup as League Cup winners reverted to the league and was awarded to Blackburn Rovers as the highest-placed team not already qualified for European competitions.

Results by round

Round1234567891011121314151617181920212223242526272829303132333435363738
GroundAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAAHHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
ResultWWDDDWWWWWWWLDLLLLDDDLDWDWDLWWWLWWWWLL
Position62234522211112224666677666676656655555
Source: Competitive Matches
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

Matches

18 August 2002 1 Aston Villa 0–1 Liverpool Birmingham
14:00 BST Report Riise 47' Stadium: Villa Park
Attendance: 41,183
Referee: Andy D'Urso
24 August 2002 2 Liverpool 3–0 Southampton Liverpool
15:00 BST Diouf 3', 51'
Murphy 90' (pen.)
Report Stadium: Anfield
Attendance: 43,058
Referee: Jeff Winter
28 August 2002 3 Blackburn Rovers 2–2 Liverpool Blackburn
20:00 BST Dunn 15'
Grabbi 83'
Report Murphy 31'
Riise 77'
Stadium: Ewood Park
Attendance: 29,207
Referee: Steve Bennett
2 September 2002 4 Liverpool 2–2 Newcastle United Liverpool
20:00 BST Hamann 53'
Owen 73' (pen.)
Report Speed 80'
Shearer 88'
Stadium: Anfield
Attendance: 43,241
Referee: Graham Poll
11 September 2002 5 Liverpool 2–2 Birmingham City Liverpool
20:00 BST Murphy 25'
Gerrard 49'
Report Morrison 61', 90' Stadium: Anfield
Attendance: 43,113
Referee: Neale Barry
14 September 2002 6 Bolton Wanderers 2–3 Liverpool Bolton
15:00 BST Gardner 54'
Campo 87'
Report Baroš 45', 72'
Heskey 88'
Stadium: Reebok Stadium
Attendance: 27,328
Referee: Rob Styles
21 September 2002 7 Liverpool 2–0 West Bromwich Albion Liverpool
15:00 BST Baroš 56'
Riise 90'
Report Stadium: Anfield
Attendance: 43,830
Referee: David Elleray
28 September 2002 8 Manchester City 0–3 Liverpool Manchester
15:00 BST Report Owen 4', 64', 89' Stadium: Maine Road
Attendance: 35,131
Referee: Paul Durkin
6 October 2002 9 Liverpool 1–0 Chelsea Liverpool
16:00 BST Owen 90' Report Stadium: Anfield
Attendance: 43,856
Referee: Graham Barber
19 October 2002 10 Leeds United 0–1 Liverpool Leeds
12:00 BST Report Diao 66' Stadium: Elland Road
Attendance: 40,187
Referee: Steve Dunn
26 October 2002 11 Liverpool 2–1 Tottenham Hotspur Liverpool
15:00 BST Murphy 72'
Owen 86' (pen.)
Report Richards 82' Stadium: Anfield
Attendance: 44,084
Referee: Mike Riley
2 November 2002 12 Liverpool 2–0 West Ham United Liverpool
15:00 GMT Owen 28', 55' Report Stadium: Anfield
Attendance: 44,048
Referee: Eddie Wolstenholme
9 November 2002 13 Middlesbrough 1–0 Liverpool Middlesbrough
15:00 GMT Southgate 82' Report Stadium: Riverside
Attendance: 34,747
Referee: Mark Halsey
17 November 2002 14 Liverpool 0–0 Sunderland Liverpool
14:00 GMT Report Stadium: Anfield
Attendance: 43,074
Referee: Andy D'Urso
23 November 2002 15 Fulham 3–2 Liverpool London
15:00 GMT Sava 5', 68'
Davis 38'
Report Hamann 62'
Baroš 86'
Stadium: Loftus Road
Attendance: 18,144
Referee: Graham Poll
1 December 2002 16 Liverpool 1–2 Manchester United Liverpool
12:15 GMT Hyypiä 82' Report Forlán 64', 67' Stadium: Anfield
Attendance: 44,250
Referee: Alan Wiley
7 December 2002 17 Charlton Athletic 2–0 Liverpool London
15:00 GMT Euell 36'
Konchesky 78'
Report Stadium: The Valley
Attendance: 26,694
Referee: Mike Riley
15 December 2002 18 Sunderland 2–1 Liverpool Sunderland
16:00 GMT McCann 36'
Proctor 85'
Report Baroš 68' Stadium: Stadium of Light
Attendance: 37,118
Referee: Mark Halsey
22 December 2002 19 Liverpool 0–0 Everton Liverpool
16:00 GMT Report Stadium: Anfield
Attendance: 44,025
Referee: Graham Poll
26 December 2002 20 Liverpool 1–1 Blackburn Rovers Liverpool
Riise 17' Report Cole 77' Stadium: Anfield
Attendance: 43,075
Referee: Neale Barry
29 December 2002 21 Arsenal 1–1 Liverpool London
16:00 GMT Henry 79' (pen.) Report Murphy 70' (pen.) Stadium: Highbury
Attendance: 38,074
Referee: Jeff Winter
1 January 2003 22 Newcastle United 1–0 Liverpool Newcastle-upon-Tyne
Robert 13' Report Diao  66' Stadium: St. James' Park
Attendance: 52,147
Referee: Dermot Gallagher
11 January 2003 23 Liverpool 1–1 Aston Villa Liverpool
15:00 GMT Owen 38' Report Dublin 49' (pen.) Stadium: Anfield
Attendance: 43,210
Referee: Paul Durkin
18 January 2003 24 Southampton 0–1 Liverpool Southampton
15:00 GMT Report Heskey 14' Stadium: St. Mary's
Attendance: 32,104
Referee: Steve Bennett
29 January 2003 25 Liverpool 2–2 Arsenal Liverpool
Riise 52'
Heskey 90'
Report Pires 9'
Bergkamp 63'
Stadium: Anfield
Attendance: 43,668
Referee: Mark Halsey
2 February 2003 26 West Ham United 0–3 Liverpool London
Report Baroš 7'
Gerrard 9'
Heskey 67'
Stadium: Boleyn Ground
Attendance: 35,033
Referee: Matt Messias
8 February 2003 27 Liverpool 1–1 Middlesbrough Liverpool
15:00 GMT Riise 74' Report Geremi 27' Stadium: Anfield
Attendance: 42,247
Referee: Steve Bennett
23 February 2003 28 Birmingham City 2–1 Liverpool Birmingham
16:00 GMT Clemence 34'
Morrison 68'
Report Owen 77' Stadium: St Andrew's
Attendance: 29,449
Referee: C Wilkes
8 March 2003 29 Liverpool 2–0 Bolton Wanderers Liverpool
Diouf 44'
Owen 67'
Report Stadium: Anfield
Attendance: 41,462
Referee: Graham Barber
16 March 2003 30 Tottenham Hotspur 2–3 Liverpool London
Taricco 48'
Sheringham 87'
Report Owen 51'
Heskey 72'
Gerrard 82'
Stadium: White Hart Lane
Attendance: 36,077
Referee: Uriah Rennie
23 March 2003 31 Liverpool 3–1 Leeds United Liverpool
Owen 12'
Murphy 20'
Gerrard 73'
Report Viduka 44' Stadium: Anfield
Attendance: 43,021
Referee: Andy D'Urso
5 April 2003 32 Manchester United 4–0 Liverpool Manchester
van Nistelrooy 5' (pen.), 65' (pen.)
Giggs 78'
Solskjær 90'
Report Hyypia  4' Stadium: Old Trafford
Attendance: 67,639
Referee: Mike Riley
12 April 2003 33 Liverpool 2–0 Fulham Liverpool
15:00 BST Heskey 36'
Owen 59'
Report Stadium: Anfield
Attendance: 42,120
Referee: Alan Wiley
19 April 2003 34 Everton 1–2 Liverpool Liverpool
15:00 BST Unsworth 58' (pen.) Report Owen 31'
Murphy 54'
Stadium: Goodison Park
Attendance: 40,162
Referee: Paul Durkin
21 April 2003 35 Liverpool 2–1 Charlton Athletic Liverpool
Hyypiä 86'
Gerrard 90'
Report Bartlett 47' Stadium: Anfield
Attendance: 42,010
Referee: Steve Dunn
26 April 2003 36 West Bromwich Albion 0–6 Liverpool West Bromwich
15:00 BST Report Owen 15', 49', 61', 67'
Baroš 47', 84'
Stadium: The Hawthorns
Attendance: 27,128
Referee: Dermot Gallagher
3 May 2003 37 Liverpool 1–2 Manchester City Liverpool
Baroš 59' Report Anelka 74' (pen.), 90' Stadium: Anfield
Attendance: 44,220
Referee: Neale Barry
11 May 2003 38 Chelsea 2–1 Liverpool London
15:00 BST Desailly 14'
Grønkjær 27'
Report Hyypiä 11' Stadium: Stamford Bridge
Attendance: 41,911
Referee: Alan Wiley

FA Cup

Matches

5 January 2003 3 Manchester City 0–1 Liverpool Manchester
Report Murphy 47' (pen.) Stadium: Maine Road
Attendance: 28,586
Referee: Uriah Rennie
26 January 2003 4 Crystal Palace 0–0 Liverpool London
Report Stadium: Selhurst Park
Attendance: 26,054
Referee: Rob Styles
5 February 2003 4
Replay
Liverpool 0–2 Crystal Palace Liverpool
Report Gray 55'
Henchoz 79' (o.g.)
Stadium: Anfield
Attendance: 35,109
Referee: Phil Dowd

League Cup

Matches

6 November 2002 3 Liverpool 3–1 Southampton Liverpool
Berger 45'
Diouf 57'
Baroš 60'
Report Delgado 55' Stadium: Anfield
Attendance: 35,870
Referee: Phil Dowd
18 December 2002 Quarter-final Aston Villa 3–4 Liverpool Birmingham
Vassell 23' (pen.)
Hitzlsperger 72'
Henchoz 88' (o.g.)
Report Murphy 27', 90'
Baroš 54'
Gerrard 67'
Stadium: Villa Park
Attendance: 38,530
Referee: Graham Barber
8 January 2003 Semi-final
First leg
Sheffield United 2–1 Liverpool Sheffield
Tonge 76', 82' Report Mellor 35' Stadium: Bramall Lane
Attendance: 30,095
Referee: Mike Dean
21 January 2003 Semi-final
Second leg
Liverpool 2–0 (a.e.t.) Sheffield United Liverpool
Diouf 9'
Owen 107'
Report Stadium: Anfield
Attendance: 43,837
Referee: Alan Wiley

Champions League

Group B

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification VAL BSL LIV SPM
1 Valencia 6 5 1 0 17 4 +13 16 Advance to second group stage 6–2 2–0 3–0
2 Basel 6 2 3 1 12 12 0 9 2–2 3–3 2–0
3 Liverpool 6 2 2 2 12 8 +4 8 Transfer to UEFA Cup 0–1 1–1 5–0
4 Spartak Moscow 6 0 0 6 1 18 −17 0 0–3 0–2 1–3
Source: RSSSF

Matches

17 September 2002 1 Valencia 2–0 Liverpool Valencia, Spain
20:45 CEST Pablo Aimar 20'
Baraja 38'
Report Hamann Stadium: Mestalla
Attendance: 43,000
Referee: Herbert Fandel
25 September 2002 2 Liverpool 1–1 Basel Liverpool
19:45 BST Baroš 34' Report Rossi 42' Stadium: Anfield
Attendance: 37,634
Referee: Dick Van Egmond
2 October 2002 3 Liverpool 5–0 Spartak Moscow Liverpool
19:45 BST Heskey 7', 90'
Cheyrou 15'
Hyypiä 29'
Diao 81'
Report Stadium: Anfield
Attendance: 40,812
Referee: Alain Hamer
22 October 2002 4 Spartak Moscow 1–3 Liverpool Moscow, Russia
20:00 MSD Danishevsky 23' Report Owen 29', 70', 90' Stadium: Dynamo Stadium
Attendance: 15,000
Referee: Konrad Plautz
30 October 2002 5 Liverpool 0–1 Valencia Liverpool
19:45 GMT Report Rufete 34' Stadium: Anfield
Attendance: 41,831
Referee: Terje Hauge
12 November 2002 6 Basel 3–3 Liverpool Basel, Switzerland
20:45 CET Rossi 2'
Giménez 22'
Atouba 29'
Report Murphy 61'
Šmicer 64'
Owen 85'
Stadium: St. Jakob-Park
Attendance: 35,000
Referee: Claude Colombo

UEFA Cup

Matches

28 November 2002 Third round
First leg
Vitesse 0–1 Liverpool Arnhem, Netherlands
Report Owen 26' Stadium: GelreDome
Attendance: 28,500
Referee: Manuel Mejuto González
12 December 2002 Third round
Second leg
Liverpool 1–0 Vitesse Liverpool, England
Owen 21' Report Stadium: Anfield
Attendance: 23,576
Referee: Wolfgang Stark
20 February 2003 Fourth round
First leg
Auxerre 0–1 Liverpool Auxerre, France
Report Hyypiä 72' Stadium: Stade de l'Abbé-Deschamps
Attendance: 20,452
Referee: Massimo De Santis
27 February 2003 Fourth round
Second leg
Liverpool 2–0 Auxerre Liverpool, England
Owen 66'
Murphy 72'
Report Stadium: Anfield
Attendance: 34,252
Referee: Antonio Jesús López Nieto
13 March 2003 Quarter-final
First leg
Celtic 1–1 Liverpool Glasgow, Scotland
Larsson 2' Report Heskey 17' Stadium: Celtic Park
Attendance: 59,759
Referee: Terje Hauge
20 March 2003 Quarter-finals
Second leg
Liverpool 0–2 Celtic Liverpool, England
Report Thompson 45'
Hartson 82'
Stadium: Anfield
Attendance: 44,238
Referee: Markus Merk

References

  1. ^ "Liverpool lift Worthington Cup". BBC Sport. 2 March 2003. Retrieved 26 September 2010.
  2. ^ "All Liverpool players: 2003".
  3. ^ "Cheyrou joins Liverpool". BBC News. 16 May 2002.
  4. ^ "Liverpool sign Diarra". BBC News. 9 July 2002.
  5. ^ "Diao confirms Liverpool move". BBC News. 24 June 2002.
  6. ^ "Barmby lands at Leeds". BBC News. 8 August 2002.
  7. ^ McNulty, Phil (14 August 2002). "Wright agrees Sunderland deal". BBC News.
  8. ^ "Ajax sign Litmanen". BBC News. 30 August 2002.

Notes

  1. ^ Xavier was born in Nampula, Portuguese Mozambique (now Mozambique), which was then an overseas territory of Portugal, and made his international debut for Portugal in March 1993.
  2. ^ Traoré was born in Saint-Ouen, France, but also qualified to represent Mali internationally and would make his international debut for Mali in 2004.