2008–09 Liverpool F.C. season
117th season in existence of Liverpool F.C. / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The 2008–2009 season was Liverpool's 117th season in existence and their 47th consecutive season in the top-flight of English football. The season began on 1 July 2008 and concluded on 20 June 2009, with competitive matches played between August and May. Having finished the previous Premier League season in fourth place behind Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal, Liverpool improved to end the 2008–09 campaign in second place, four points behind Manchester United, with a record of 25 wins, 11 draws and two defeats. Liverpool made little progress in the domestic cup competitions and were eliminated in the fourth round of both the FA Cup and League Cup by Everton and Tottenham Hotspur respectively. They were defeated in the quarter-final of the UEFA Champions League by Chelsea.
2008–09 season | ||||
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Chairman | Tom Hicks and George Gillett | |||
Manager | Rafael Benítez | |||
Stadium | Anfield | |||
Premier League | 2nd | |||
FA Cup | Fourth round | |||
League Cup | Fourth round | |||
UEFA Champions League | Quarter-finals | |||
Top goalscorer | League: Steven Gerrard (16) All: Steven Gerrard (24) | |||
Highest home attendance | 44,424 vs. Arsenal (21 April 2009) | |||
Lowest home attendance | 28,591 vs. Crewe Alexandra (23 September 2008) | |||
Average home league attendance | 43,611[1] | |||
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Liverpool acquired eight players in the transfer market, including Philipp Degen, Andrea Dossena and Diego Cavalieri who arrived in early July. They were supplemented by striker Robbie Keane from Tottenham and midfielder Albert Riera in August. A total of eight players departed including John Arne Riise, Steve Finnan, Harry Kewell, goalkeeper Scott Carson and striker Peter Crouch who were all transferred in the summer transfer window. Six months after arriving at Liverpool, Keane was sold back to Tottenham in the winter transfer window.
Liverpool began the season in good form; they won eight of their first ten matches before suffering a defeat against Tottenham. They picked up their form after this and a 5–1 victory over Newcastle United at the end of 2008 ensured that they would be top of the league going into the New Year. Three successive draws at the turn of the year meant that Manchester United caught Liverpool and a 2–0 defeat by Middlesbrough at the end of February dented their hopes of winning the league. Liverpool then won ten of their final eleven matches, including a 4–1 victory over Manchester United. The run was not enough to overhaul United and Liverpool finished four points behind in second place.
Twenty-six different players represented the club in four competitions, and there were 16 different goalscorers. Liverpool's top goalscorer was Steven Gerrard, who scored 24 goals in 44 matches. Defender Jamie Carragher made the most appearances during the season with 54.