2009–10 Liverpool F.C. season

Liverpool

2009–10 season
Co-chairmen	Tom Hicks George Gillett
Manager	Rafael Benítez
Premier League	6th
FA Cup	Third round
League Cup	Fourth round
UEFA Champions League	Group stage, 3rd
UEFA Europa League	Currently Semi Final
Top goalscorer	League: Torres (18) All: Torres (22)

The 2009–10 season is the 118th season in Liverpool Football Club's existence, and their 47th consecutive year in the top flight, and covers the period from 1 July 2009 to 30 June 2010. Having finished second in the previous season, Liverpool qualified automatically for the UEFA Champions League group stage for the first time since the 2002-03 season.

Pre-season

Liverpool confirmed that long-serving centre-back Sami Hyypiä would be leaving the club after 10 years to join German club Bayer Leverkusen. Liverpool also confirmed that José Segura, the ex-Olympiacos manager, would be joining the club as Academy technical manager, starting on 1 June.

Liverpool announced their pre-season programme on 6 May 2009, including a tour of Asia, and a friendly against Espanyol, as a clause of the deal that brought Albert Riera to the club. Liverpool started their pre-season campaign against St. Gallen in Switzerland on 15 July, which ended as 0-0 draw. Rafael Benítez gave playing time for most of his players. Young Jay Spearing, Nabil El Zhar, and Krisztián Németh were looking good in the first half. 17-year-old Spaniard Daniel Pacheco's also impressed the team. Glen Johnson made his debut for Liverpool and earned himself the Fans Man of the Match award from Liverpool FC TV. They played their second encounter with Rapid Wien at the Ernst Happel Stadium on 19 July, which Liverpool lost 1–0. The Asian tour began with a match against Thailand on 22 July which ended 1–1, followed by a trip to Kallang to play Singapore, a game which Liverpool won 5–0 with goals by Andriy Voronin, Albert Riera, two by Krisztián Németh, and Fernando Torres. Their remaining pre-season fixtures include matches against Espanyol on 2 August, where they suffered a heavy 3–0 defeat; a win over Lyn Oslo on 5 August; and a 2–1 loss against Atlético Madrid on 8 August.

Team kit

The team kit for the 2009–10 season will be produced by Adidas. The home kit will remain the same as last season. The new away kit is black with gold trim. The third kit is changing in August 2009 to a new white kit. It was announced that long time sponsor Carlsberg would be leaving the club after 18 years. They will be replaced by British bank Standard Chartered, who will commence a four-year £80m deal with the club in May 2010.

Technical staff

Name Role Rafael Benitez Manager Sammy Lee Assistant manager Mauricio Pellegrino First team coach Dave McDonough Head of Technical Analysis Kenny Dalglish Academy Development Officer/Club Ambassador José Segura Academy Techinal Manager Paco de Miguel Fitness Coach Eduardo Parra García Fitness coach Xavi Valero Goalkeeping coach John McMahon Reserve Team Manager Gonzalo Rodríguez Reserve Team Fitness coach John Achterberg Reserve Team Goalkeeping Coach

Name Role Eduardo Macia Chief scout Mike McGlynn Assistant Chief scout Mark Waller Club doctor Rob Price Senior physiotherapist Chris Morgan Physiotherapist Matt Konopinski Physiotherapist Iván Ortega Sports Therapist Félix Fernández Ledesma Assistant Sports Therapist Paul Small Masseur Graham Carter Kit Manager

First-team squad

No.	Name	Nationality	Position	Date Of Birth (Age)	Signed From	Notes
Goalkeepers
25	Pepe Reina		GK	(1982-08-31) August 31, 1982	Villarreal
1	Diego Cavalieri		GK	(1982-12-01) December 1, 1982	Palmeiras
Defenders
2	Glen Johnson		RB	(1984-08-23) August 23, 1984	Portsmouth
27	Philipp Degen		RB	(1983-02-15) February 15, 1983	Borussia Dortmund
32	Stephen Darby		RB	(1988-10-06) October 6, 1988	The Academy	Reserve team player
23	Jamie Carragher		CB	(1978-01-28) January 28, 1978	The Academy	Vice-captain
5	Daniel Agger		CB	(1984-12-12) December 12, 1984	Brøndby
16	Sotirios Kyrgiakos		CB	(1979-07-23) July 23, 1979	AEK Athens
37	Martin Škrtel		CB	(1984-12-15) December 15, 1984	Zenit St. Petersburg
34	Martin Kelly		CB	(1990-04-27) April 27, 1990	The Academy	Reserve team player
12	Fábio Aurélio		LB	(1979-09-24) September 24, 1979	Valencia
22	Emiliano Insúa		LB	(1989-01-07) January 7, 1989	Boca Juniors
40	Daniel Sánchez Ayala		CB	(1990-11-07) November 7, 1990	Sevilla	Reserve team player
Midfielders
4	Alberto Aquilani		CM	(1984-07-07) July 7, 1984	Roma
18	Dirk Kuyt		RW	(1980-07-22) July 22, 1980	Feyenoord
15	Yossi Benayoun		RW	(1980-05-05) May 5, 1980	West Ham United
31	Nabil El Zhar		RW	(1986-08-27) August 27, 1986	Saint-Étienne
8	Steven Gerrard		AM	(1980-05-30) May 30, 1980	The Academy	Captain
20	Javier Mascherano		DM	(1984-06-08) June 8, 1984	West Ham United
21	Lucas Leiva		CM	(1987-01-09) January 9, 1987	Grêmio
17	Maxi Rodriguez		W	(1981-01-02) January 2, 1981	Atlético Madrid	Jointed in January
26	Jay Spearing		CM	(1988-11-25) November 25, 1988	The Academy	Reserve team player
28	Damien Plessis		DM	(1988-03-05) March 5, 1988	Lyon
11	Albert Riera		LW	(1982-04-15) April 15, 1982	Espanyol
19	Ryan Babel		LW	(1986-12-19) December 19, 1986	Ajax
Strikers
9	Fernando Torres		ST	(1984-03-20) March 20, 1984	Atlético Madrid
24	David N'Gog		ST	(1989-04-01) April 1, 1989	Paris Saint-Germain
39	Nathan Eccleston		ST	(1990-12-30) December 30, 1990	The Academy	Reserve team player
47	Daniel Pacheco		ST	(1991-01-05) January 5, 1991	The Academy	Reserve team player

As of 1 July 2009.

Squad Statistics

				Total			UCL		EPL		FA Cup		FL Cup		UEL
No.	Pos.	Nat.	Name	Sts	App	Gls	App	Gls	App	Gls	App	Gls	App	Gls	App	Gls
25	GK		Reina	26	28		5		20		1				2
2	DF		Johnson	20	21	2	3		17	2			1
37	DF		Škrtel	15	21	1	4		12	1	1		2		2
23	DF		Carragher	26	28		5		19		1		1		2
22	DF		Insúa	26	27	1	6		18		1		1	1	1
20	MF		Mascherano	20	25	1	5		17				1		2	1
21	MF		Lucas	25	28		5		20		1				2
18	[[|S]]		Kuyt	27	30	10	6	1	20	9	1		1		2
15	MF		Benayoun	19	28	7	6	2	20	5	1		1
8	MF		Gerrard	22	26	8	5		17	6	1	1	1		2	1
9	[[|S]]		Torres	18	21	13	4		16	13	1
12	DF		Aurélio	10	20		5		11		1		1		2
24	[[|S]]		N'Gog	9	18	7	3	1	10	4	1		2	1	2	1
5	DF		Agger	15	17		4		11						2
19	MF		Babel	5	17	4	3	1	10	2			2		2	1
11	MF		Riera	8	12		1		9				1		1
4	MF		Aquilani	3	11		2		5		1		1		2
16	DF		Kyrgiakos	5	6		1		3				2
27	DF		Degen	3	5				3				2
25	MF		Rodriguez	15	15				9		1				5		Joined in January
26	MF		Spearing	3	5				3				2
40	DF		Ayala	1	3				3
1	GK		Cavalieri	4	4		1				1		2
32	DF		Darby	2	2		1				1
39	[[|S]]		Eccleston		2				1				1				On loan
47	[[|S]]		Pacheco		3		1		1						1
34	DF		Kelly	1	1		1
28	MF		Plessis	1	1								1
31	MF		El Zhar		1				1
10	FW		Voronin		1				1

Last updated: 10 January 2010
Source: BBC Sport
Ordered by starting 11, then appearances, then games started
0 shown as blank

Starting 11

These charts below depict the most used starters in the most used start formation. The most recent starters/formations are listed when total starts are equal between two players/formations.

No. Pos. Nat. Name MS Notes 25 GK Reina 39 Cavalieri has three starts 2 RB Johnson 22 Degen has six starts, Darby has two starts and Kelly has one start 5 CB Agger 24 Skrtel has twenty-three starts, Kyrgiakos has nine starts and Ayala has one start 23 CB Carragher 40 22 LB Insúa 38 Aurélio has thirteen starts 20 DM Mascherano 33 Spearing has three starts and Plessis has one start 21 DM Lucas 36 Aquilani has eight starts 18 RW Kuyt 39 Rodriguez has seven starts 8 AM Gerrard 34 Voronin has three starts 15 LW Benayoun 23 Riera has twelve starts and Babel has eight starts 9 FW Torres 23 N'Gog has fifteen starts

Reina Johnson Agger Carragher Insúa Mascherano Lucas Kuyt Gerrard Benayoun Torres .

Last updated: 10 Jan 2010
Source: Squad stats and Start formations.
Only competitive matches.
Using the most used start formation.
Ordered by position on pitch (from back right to front left).

Top scorers

Includes all competitive matches. The list is sorted by shirt number when total goals are equal.

Last updated on 2 April

Position	Nation	Number	Name	Premier League	Champions League	Europa League	League Cup	FA Cup	Total
1		9	Fernando Torres	18	0	4	0	0	22
2		18	Dirk Kuyt	9	1	1	0	0	11
3		8	Steven Gerrard	7	0	2	0	1	10
4		15	Yossi Benayoun	5	2	0	0	0	7
5		24	David N'Gog	4	1	1	1	0	7
6		19	Ryan Babel	3	1	1	0	0	5
7		2	Glen Johnson	3	0	0	0	0	3
8		4	Alberto Aquilani	1	0	0	0	0	1
9		5	Daniel Agger	0	0	1	0	0	1
10		16	Sotirios Kyrgiakos	1	0	0	0	0	1
11		20	Javier Mascherano	0	0	1	0	0	1
12		21	Lucas Leiva	0	0	1	0	0	1
13		22	Emiliano Insúa	0	0	0	1	0	1
14		37	Martin Škrtel	1	0	0	0	0	1
TOTALS				52	5	12	2	1	72

Reserve squad

As of 23 March 2010 Squad Numbers refer to players' first team squad number (for season 2009–10), where applicable. Reserve and youth games are 1-11. See Liverpool F.C. Reserves and Academy

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
26	MF	ENG	Jay Spearing (on loan to Leicester City)
29	FW	HUN	Krisztián Németh (on loan to AEK Athens)
30	GK	FRA	Charles Itandje (on loan to Kavala)
32	DF	ENG	Stephen Darby (on loan to Swindon Town)
34	DF	ENG	Martin Kelly
36	DF	ENG	Steve Irwin
38	DF	ENG	Robbie Threlfall (on loan to Bradford City)
39	FW	ENG	Nathan Eccleston (on loan to Huddersfield Town)
40	DF	ESP	Daniel Sánchez Ayala
41	GK	DEN	Martin Hansen
42	GK	HUN	Péter Gulácsi
43	GK	AUS	Dean Bouzanis (on loan to Accrington Stanley)
44	GK	ENG	David Martin
45	MF	SWE	Alexander Kačaniklić
46	MF	ENG	David Amoo

No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
47	FW	ESP	Daniel Pacheco
48	MF	ARG	Gerardo Bruna
—	GK	EIR	Christopher Oldfield
—	DF	ESP	Emmanuel Mendy
—	DF	FRA	Chris Mavinga
—	DF	ESP	Mikel San José (on loan to Athletic Bilbao)
—	MF	ESP	Francisco Durán
—	MF	ISL	Guðlaugur Victor Pálsson
—	MF	HUN	Zsolt Pölöskei (on loan from MTK Hungaria)
—	MF	NED	Vincent Weijl (on loan to Helmond Sport)
—	FW	NED	Jordy Brouwer
—	FW	FIN	Lauri Dalla Valle
—	FW	DEN	Nikola Sarić
—	FW	HUN	András Simon (on loan to Córdoba CF)

Transfers

In

First Team

No.	Pos.	Nat.	Name	Age	EU	Moving from	Type	Transfer window	Ends	Transfer fee	Source
4	MF		Aquilani	25	EU	Roma	Transfer	Summer	2014	£17.1M	BBC
2	RB		Johnson	24	EU	Portsmouth	Transfer	Summer	2013	£17.5M	BBC
16	DF		Kyrgiakos	30	EU	AEK Athens	Transfer	Summer	2011	£2M + Nemeth loan	Liverpool FC Official site
17	MF		Rodriguez	29	EU	Atletico Madrid	Transfer	Winter	2013	Free	Liverpool FC Official Site

Last updated: 13 January

Reserves and Academy

No.	Pos.	Nat.	Name	Age	EU	Moving from	Type	Transfer window	Ends	Transfer fee	Source
	GK		Belford	15	EU	Coventry City	Transfer	Summer	Undisclosed	Compensation	Coventry Telegraph
	MF		Emilsson	16	EU	FH Hafnarfjordur	Transfer	Summer	Undisclosed	Undisclosed	Liverpool FC Official site
	MF		King	16	EU	Rushden & Diamonds	Transfer	Summer	Undisclosed	Undisclosed	Rushden & Diamonds Official website
	MF		Kohlert	16	EU	Esbjerg fB	Transfer	Summer	2012	Undisclosed	Scandic Managers
	DF		Maloney	16	EU	St Josephs Boys A.F.C.	Transfer	Summer	Undisclosed	Undisclosed
	LB		Mavinga	18	EU	Paris Saint-Germain	Transfer	Summer	Undisclosed	Undisclosed	Liverpool FC Official site
			Moli		EU	Luton Town	Transfer	Summer	Undisclosed	Compensation	Luton Town F.C.
	FW		Ngoo	16	EU	Southend United	Transfer	Summer	Undisclosed	£250,000	Liverpool FC Official site
	DF		Sama	16	EU	Borussia Dortmund	Transfer	Summer	2012	Compensation	Liverpool FC Official site
	MF		Silva	16	EU	Benfica	Transfer	Summer	Undisclosed	Compensation	Liverpool F.C.
	DF		Sokolik	16	EU	Baník Ostrava	Transfer	Summer	Undisclosed	Undisclosed	Sky Sports
	MF		Suso	16	EU	Cadiz	Transfer	Summer	Undisclosed	Compensation	Diarodecadiz.es

Last updated: 10 December

Out

First Team

N	Pos.	Nat.	Name	Age	EU	Moving to	Type	Transfer window	Transfer fee	Source
14	CM		Alonso	27	EU	Real Madrid	Transfer	Summer	£30M	Liverpool Official Site
17	DF		Arbeloa	26	EU	Real Madrid	Transfer	Summer	£3.5M	Liverpool Official Site
38	DF		Dossena	28	EU	Napoli	Transfer	Winter	€4.25M	Liverpool Official Site
35	MF		Flynn	21	EU	Falkirk	Transfer	Summer	Undisclosed	Liverpool Official Site
4	CB		Hyypiä	35	EU	Leverkusen	Contract ended	Summer	Free	Liverpool Official Site
33	LM		Leto	22	Non-EU	Panathinaikos	Transfer	Summer	£3M	Liverpool Official Site
38	FW		Lindfield	20	EU	Macclesfield Town	Released	Summer	Free	Liverpool Official Site
16	RM		Pennant	26	EU	Zaragoza	Contract ended	Summer	Free	Sky News
10	FW		Voronin	30	Non-EU	Dynamo Moscow	Transfer	Winter	€2M	Liverpool Official Site

Last updated: 10 January

Reserves and Academy

N	Pos.	Nat.	Name	Age	EU	Moving to	Type	Transfer window	Transfer fee	Source
	RW		Anderson	20	EU	Nottingham Forest	Transfer	Summer	£250,000	Liverpool Official Site
	DF		Antwi	21	EU	Vejle BK	Contract ended	Summer	Free	Liverpool Official Site
	MF		Ajdarević	18	EU	Leicester City	Contract ended	Summer	Free	BBC
	DF		Buchtmann	17	EU	Fulham	Transfer	Winter	£100,000	Liverpool Official Site
	MF		Crowther	20	EU		Contract ended	Summer	Free	Liverpool Official Site
	MF		Dawson	16	EU	Bury	Released	Summer	Free	Bury F.C. Official Site
	GK		Duyan	18	EU	Shrewsbury Town	Released	Summer	Free
	MF		Flora	20	EU	Goiás Esporte Clube	Transfer	Winter	Undisclosed	Liverpool Official Site
	MF		Hammil	21	EU	Barnsley	Transfer	Summer	Undisclosed	Liverpool Official Site
	CB		Hobbs	20	EU	Leicester City	Transfer	Summer	£400,000	Liverpool Official Site
	DF		Huth	19	EU	Vicenza	Contract ended	Summer	Free	Liverpool Official Site
	DF		Kennedy	18	EU		Youth contract ended	Summer	Free	Liverpool Official Site
	MF		MacKay-Steven	20	EU		Contract ended	Summer	Free	Liverpool Official Site
	GK		Mihaylov	21	EU	Twente	Transfer	Winter	£1.5 million	Daily Post
	DF		O'Connor	19	EU	Ipswich Town	Contract ended	Summer	Free	Liverpool Official Site
	MF		Putterill	20	EU		Released	Summer	Free
	DF		Roque	20	EU	Real Betis	Contract ended	Summer	Free	Liverpool Official Site

Last updated: 5 February

Loaned in

#	Pos	Player	From	Start	End
	MF	Zsolt Pölöskei	MTK Hungária	01-07-2009	30-06-2010
	FW	Krisztián Adorján	MTK Hungária	01-08-2009	30-06-2010

Loaned out

#	Pos	Player	To	Start	End
26	MF	Jay Spearing	Leicester City	23-03-2010	30-05-2010
29	FW	Krisztián Németh	AEK Athens	21-08-2009	30-06-2010
30	GK	Charles Itandje	Kavala	31-08-2009	30-06-2010
32	DF	Stephen Darby	Swindon Town	12-03-2010	31-05-2010
35	MF	Ryan Flynn	Falkirk	10-07-2009	14-09-2009
38	DF	Robbie Threlfall	Northampton Town	21-08-2009	19-09-2009
38	DF	Robbie Threlfall	Bradford City	22-02-2010	22-03-2010
38	DF	Robbie Threlfall	Bradford City	22-03-2010	30-05-2010
39	MF	Nathan Eccleston	Huddersfield Town	28-01-2010	08-05-2010
43	GK	Dean Bouzanis	Accrington Stanley	26-11-2009	02-01-2010
43	GK	Dean Bouzanis	Accrington Stanley	03-01-2010	30-01-2010
43	GK	Dean Bouzanis	Accrington Stanley	01-02-2010	30-05-2010
44	GK	David Martin	Tranmere Rovers	16-10-2009	16-11-2009
44	GK	David Martin	Leeds United	26-11-2009	28-12-2009
44	GK	David Martin	Leeds United	29-12-2009	30-01-2010
44	GK	David Martin	Leeds United	01-02-2010	10-02-2010
44	GK	David Martin	Derby County	12-03-2010	10-04-2010
45	MF	Mikel San José	Athletic Bilbao	15-08-2009	30-06-2010
	GK	Nikolay Mihaylov	Twente	01-07-2008	01-02-2010
	FW	András Simon	Córdoba	21-08-2009	30-06-2010
	MF	Vincent Weijl	Helmond Sport	30-01-2010	30-06-2010

Match results

Pre-season

Friendlies
Kick Off	Opponents	H / A	Result	Scorers	Referee	Attendance	Report
2009-07-15 20:00	St. Gallen	A	0-0	-	Cyril Zimmermann	20,000	MR
2009-07-19 19:15	Rapid Wien	A	0-1	-	Gerhard Grubelnik	50,000	MR
2009-07-22 20:00	Thailand	A	1-1	Babel 6'		55,000	MR
2009-07-26 20:00	Singapore	A	5-0	Voronin 45', Riera 54', Németh 73', 83', Torres 80'	Abdul Malik Bashir	55,000	MR
2009-08-02 21:00	Espanyol	A	0-3	-		40,000	MR
2009-08-05 19:00	Lyn Oslo	A	2-0	Voronin 44', N'Gog 59'			MR
2009-08-08 15:00	Atlético Madrid	H	1-2	Lucas 82'	Phil Dowd	44,102	MR

Premier League

Classification

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August

The fixtures for the 2009–10 Premier League season were announced on 17 June, with Liverpool being handed an away fixture to Tottenham Hotspur. Spurs took the lead a minute before half time when left back Benoît Assou-Ekotto scored from 30 yards, after Tom Huddlestone's free kick had been blocked. Liverpool showed more urgency after half time, and were awarded a penalty on 55 minutes when Glen Johnson's run was ended by keeper Heurelho Gomes' challenge. Steven Gerrard converted the penalty to equalise for Liverpool. However, Tottenham regained the lead on 64 minutes when Cameroonian centre-half Sebastien Bassong headed home a Luka Modrić free kick. Liverpool seemed unable to respond, and fashioned few chances. They had a penalty appeal turned down on 84 minutes when Andriy Voronin seemed to be tripped by Assou-Ekotto in the box, but Spurs hung on for a 2–1 win. Liverpool manager Rafael Benítez later criticised referee Phil Dowd for his failure to award Liverpool a penalty, and was later charged with improper conduct by the FA.

Liverpool's first home match was against Stoke City four days later. Liverpool took the lead after five minutes when Fernando Torres swept home Steven Gerrard's cross. The lead was doubled moments before half time when Glen Johnson acrobatically finished after Dirk Kuyt's header had been blocked off the line. Good work from Gerrard on the right saw Kuyt make it 3–0 five minutes from time, before Frenchman David N'Gog headed a fourth in stoppage time.

Liverpool suffered their first home league defeat since a 0–1 loss to Manchester United on 16 December 2007 against Aston Villa the following Monday. The away side took the lead when Lucas Leiva inadvertently headed into his own net from an Ashley Young cross on 33 minutes. Villa doubled their lead in first half injury time when Curtis Davies headed home from a corner. Liverpool did manage to pull one back through Fernando Torres, but Gerrard's poorly timed tackle on Nigel Reo-Coker led to a penalty, which Ashley Young converted to consign Liverpool to a 3–1 defeat. Manager Rafael Benítez criticised his senior players for the defeat, and demanded a better performance for the next match, away to Bolton Wanderers.

At the Reebok Stadium, Liverpool had to twice come back from behind against Bolton. They took the lead on 33 minutes when poor marking from a corner saw Kevin Davies bundle the ball home from close range. Glen Johnson equalised four minutes before the break when a Liverpool corner was not properly cleared, and he stroked home left-footed from twenty yards. Bolton regained the lead two minutes after the break when Davies headed down Jussi Jääskeläinen's long punt for Tamir Cohen to smash home. The turning point of the game was Sean Davis' sending off on 53 minutes for a second bookable offence. Liverpool equalised just a few minutes later when Fernando Torres finished tidily following good work from Dirk Kuyt. Liverpool continued to press and finally got the winner on 83 minutes, when Torres' knockdown from a Glen Johnson was met by a shot from Gerrard, who had earlier hit the bar. Gerrard later felt he "owed" the performance after poor performances in the defeats to 'Spurs and Villa.

September

Liverpool's next match came after the international break, where they faced newly-promoted Burnley at home. Despite comments made prior to the match by 'keeper Pepe Reina that the league title was 'not a realistic ambition this season', Liverpool comfortably dispatched the East Lancashire club 4–0 to go up to fourth in the table, thanks to an inspired performance from Yossi Benayoun. He opened the scoring for Liverpool in the 27th minute, after he jinked past two Burnley players and placed his shot beyond the reach of Brian Jensen. The lead was doubled four minutes before the break, when the Israeli's shot was parried, and Dirk Kuyt was on hand to tap in the rebound. Jensen was kept busy by the Liverpool frontline, as the Reds strived to make the game safe. They did when Benayoun got his second just after hour. Brilliant work by Steven Gerrard in the Burnley penalty area allowed him to pull the ball back to Benayoun, who could hardly miss from four yards. The fourth goal came with nine minutes to go when intricate play around the 18-yard box culminated in substitute Andriy Voronin's through pass to Benayoun, who just stayed onside to convert his third and Liverpool's fourth of the match. Liverpool manager Rafael Benítez later praised Benayoun's work ethic, and stated that he was an 'example to the rest of the squad' Michael Shields, attended this match as a special guest, his first since Istanbul, just three days after being released from prison.

Liverpool travelled to the Boleyn Ground the following week, a ground that they won 3–0 at the previous season. They looked to be heading for a similar result when Fernando Torres' brillian run and finish put the visitors 1–0 up after thirteen minutes. However, Jamie Carragher brought young striker Zavon Hines down on the half hour, and Alessandro Diamanti converted the spot kick, which he appeared to touch twice. However, Dirk Kuyt put Liverpool back in front four minutes before the break, when he got a slight touch on a Steven Gerrard header. West Ham then equalised on half time through Carlton Cole after poor defending from a corner kick. The second half was approached slightly more cautiously by the home side, and substitute Ryan Babel made the desired impact when his ball was headed home by Torres. Liverpool held on for the remaining 15 minutes for their second consecutive 3–2 away win. Benítez praised Torres for his role in the win; Torres had stated earlier in the week that he felt he was not playing to standard this season.

The club's last Premier League match of this month came at home on 26 September, against Hull City. Liverpool took the lead after Fernando Torres, who put in a virtuoso display, showed nimble footwork, and slotted past Boaz Myhill. Hull then equalised four minutes later, when defensive frailties were pounced upon by Geovanni. Liverpool retook the lead when Torres rounded Myhill, and the Spaniard completed his hat-trick with a sublime solo effort on 47 minutes. Steven Gerrard made the game safe when his cross accidentally sailed in on the hour. Substitute Ryan Babel then came off the bench to tap in a fifth, after good work from Dirk Kuyt, and he inadvertently defleced Albert Riera's shot in injury time to make it 6–1.

October

Liverpool lost their first big four game 2–0 to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. The match was pretty even, with neither side having any clear-cut chances, until Nicolas Anelka guided the ball over Pepe Reina on the hour mark. With Liverpool pouring forward in search of an equaliser, Liverpool were left stretched at the back. With Chelsea attempting to kill time in the corner, Didier Drogba outmuscled Emiliano Insúa and squared back for Florent Malouda to double Chelsea's lead in added time.

Then, Liverpool lost their next match to Sunderland, falling out 1–0. The solitary, controversial goal was scored by Darren Bent. Andy Reid picked out Bent in the box and he directed it straight to Reina. However, a beach ball, thrown onto the field by a spectator deflected the ball into the net. Liverpool were not able to react to the shock goal, and Sunderland held on for the win.

On 25 October, Liverpool prepared to face down with Manchester United. Manager Rafa Benítez was under pressure following four straight defeats, but he was calm as he spoke to the press. Liverpool started brightly and were on top in the first half. Fábio Aurélio had a chance when his header was saved by Edwin van der Sar. United had very little to offer up front, and Liverpool sustained their pressure throughout the second half. They finally took the lead on 65 minutes when Fernando Torres outmuscled Rio Ferdinand and fired his shot into the top corner of the net. United finally reacted after the goal, but were not able to fashion any clear cut chances. Antonio Valencia hit the crossbar in the 83rd minute, but that was the closest the visitors came to an equaliser. Their plight was not helped by Nemanja Vidić's sending off for a second bookable offence on 90 minutes. Javier Mascherano was also sent off for two bookings on 95 minutes, when he tackled van der Sar. David N'Gog finally secured the three points for Liverpool when he broke away and slotted coolly past van der Sar to secure victory, Liverpool's third consecutive victory over their rivals.

Liverpool's final match of the month came away to Fulham. Liverpool had made several changes from the side that have been knocked out of the League Cup Fourth Round by Arsenal three days ago, and fell behind after 24 minutes when Bobby Zamora tapped home. Liverpool started to create chances, and equalised three minutes before half time, when Fernando Torres finished expertly from 20 yards. After the break, Fulham started to put Liverpool under pressure, and when Torres was taken off on the hour, they lost their main attacking threat. Fulham re-took the lead on 73 minutes, when another breakaway resulted in Erik Nevland cheekily finishing off a Paul Konchesky cross. Liverpool were left chasing the game at this point, and they lost two men in three minutes; Philipp Degen was, somewhat harshly, sent off for a tackle on Zamora, and Jamie Carragher was later sent off for a professional foul. This was Liverpool's fifth defeat in 11 matches, and it left them 9 points behind Chelsea at the top.

November

Liverpool's first match of the month was home to Birmingham City. Liverpool started brightly and took the lead on 13 minutes, when David N'Gog finished off after several saves from Joe Hart. Birmingham fought back, however, and equalised on 26 minutes, when a harmless free kick resulted in Christian Benítez heading home. Birmingham took the lead in the third minute of first half stoppage time, when Cameron Jerome netted from 35 yards. Liverpool brought on Steven Gerrard at the break, and though the captain looked tired, he converted Liverpool's equaliser on 71 minutes, from the penalty spot, after N'Gog had adjudged to be fouled by Lee Carsley. TV replays showed that N'Gog had dived. Liverpool could not find the winner, but this would have been harsh on Birmingham, who had defended well throughout.

Liverpool's next match after the international break was another home game, this time to Manchester City. The first half was a turgid affair, with both sides content to exchange passes. Liverpool took the lead five minutes into the second half when Martin Škrtel got the vital touch from a Gerrard free kick. City got back into the game on 69 minutes; poor marking from Craig Bellamy's corner left Emmanuel Adebayor with a free header from six yards. City then silenced Anfield when they took the lead on 76 minutes; Shaun Wright-Phillips turned Sotirios Kyrgiakos and crossed for Stephen Ireland to finish from close range. However, City could not hold on to their lead, and Yossi Benayoun was left to tap home just 72 seconds after Ireland's goal.

Liverpool headed into the Merseyside derby having exited the Champions League, and with just one win in 10. Everton were also in poor form, though they started the brighter of the two teams. Liverpool were content to soak up the pressure, and took the lead on 12 minutes, when Javier Mascherano's 30 yard shot was deflected in by Joseph Yobo. Everton's Jo had two goals correctly ruled out for offside, and though Everton had the possession, they could not convert this into goals. Everton were left chasing the game late into the second half, and Yobo's defensive error allowed Gerrard to tee up Albert Riera, whose powerful shot Tim Howard could not hold, allowing Dirk Kuyt to tap in with ten minutes remaining. Liverpool had further chances to add to their goal tally, but 2–0 flattered Liverpool, who had taken their chances, and defended well.

December

On a high after the derby win, The Reds travelled to Ewood Park as they faced Blackburn Rovers in what was Steven Gerrard's 5ooth game for Liverpool. Rovers manager Sam Allardyce has a good record against Liverpool, and he managed to contain the Reds in what was a drab, goalless draw. Chances were few and far between, with the best chance falling to the young Frenchman David N'Gog late on; his scuffed shot hit the bar.

Liverpool's next game was at home to Arsenal. The home side started well, dominating Arsenal in the early stages. Their pressure paid off four minutes before the break when Dirk Kuyt tapped home from close range. Cesc Fabregas later revelaed that manager Arséne Wenger had given his players the hairdryer treatment at half time, making it clear in no uncertain terms that they had played awfully in the first period. Arsenal returned invigoured after the second half, and put Liverpool under a period of intense pressure in the opening exchanges of the second half. They got the luck their play deserved when Samir Nasri's cross was inadvertently deflected into his own net by Glen Johnson. Buoyed by the goal, Arsenal pushed on and took the lead five minutes later through a thunderbolt from Andrei Arshavin which gave Pepe Reina no chance at his near post. Arsenal held on for their first win at Anfield since October 2003.

Liverpool managed to regain the winning touch with a 2–1 win over Wigan Athletic at Anfield three days later. The away side gave a good account of themselves, and aside from David N'Gog's early goal, matched Liverpool for spells. Liverpool wrapped up the win 11 minutes from time with Fernando Torres' 11th goal of the season. Wigan got a late consolation through Charles N'Zogbia, which was more than deserved.

Liverpool travelled to Fratton Park to face bottom of the table Portsmouth in what was seen as an easy game. Liverpool manager Rafa Benítez had made an eyebrow-raising team selection upon his team's visit last year, and he also raised questions about his selection as he picked out-of-favour Andrea Dossena on the left. Daniel Agger's close-range header was the visitors' best chance of the half, but it was Portsmouth who took the lead six minutes from the end, Algerian Nadir Belhadj rifling in a shot from what seemed an impossible angle. Javier Mascherano was sent off in first-half injury time after a two-footed lunge on Tal Ben Haim. The away side pressured for an equaliser in the second half, with Asmir Begovic pulling off a stupendous save from Steven Gerrard's heavily deflected shot. The home side sealed the win with seven minutes to go when Frédéric Piquionne volleyed home from 10 yards by sealing Portsmouth's first victory over Liverpool since April 2007. Many fans called for Benítez's exit after the game, despite his 'guarantee' of a fourth place finish this season.

The boxing day fixture saw Liverpool host Wolves. An even first half saw Kevin Doyle miss the away side's best chance as he headed over from six yards, but Stephen Ward's controversial red card early in the second half proved a turning point. Steven Gerrard powered in a header just after the hour, and Yossi Benayoun added a second deflected shot eight minutes later.

Liverpool's last match of the decade was a crunch match for 4th place with Aston Villa at Villa Park. The game turned out to be rather poor, with both teams cancelling each other out. Villa missed good chances through Gabby Agbonlahor and John Carew, but with the game heading for a draw, Fernando Torres slotted past Brad Friedel in the third minute of stoppage time to give Liverpool a vital three points.

January

Liverpool's first Premier League match of the calendar year pitted them against Stoke City at the Britannia Stadium, just days after they had been knocked out of the F.A. Cup by Championship side Reading at Anfield. The away side were weakened by injuries, but still put in a creditable performance. Lucas appeared to be tripped by Danny Higginbotham in the penalty area on 26 minutes, but referee Lee Mason booked the Brazilian for diving. Stoke were content to sit back and let Liverpool have possession, and the away side lacked a cutting edge that would have killed the game. They did take the lead on 57 minutes, with Greek defender Sotirios Kyrgiakos knocking in after Thomas Sorensen had dropped Fabio Aurelio's free kick. Stoke put Liverpool under heavy pressure in the last quarter of an hour, and made the breakthrough when Robert Huth scrambled home. Dirk Kuyt missed a golden opportunity to win the game in the sixth minute of injury time, but his header hit the post.

Liverpool faced another important showdown with Tottenham at Anfield. Spurs manager Harry Redknapp felt that his side could get a result at Anfield, with Liverpool missing key players and in poor form. Liverpool, however, started strongly, taking the lead in the sixth minute through Dirk Kuyt's 6th minute strike. Tottenham were off-par, and despite the ruling out of Jermain Defoe's goal, failed to test Pepe Reina. The home side earned a penalty in injury-time when substitutes Maxi Rodriguez and David N'Gog combined, with the latter being tripped in the box. Kuyt was made to re-take his penalty, but still sent Heurelho Gomes the wrong way to secure Liverpool's third win in four.

Despite their impressive form, Liverpool were disappointing once more, as they failed to break down Wolves at Molineux. Albert Riera's early effort was comfortably saved by Marcus Hahnemann, but the away side failed to create any clear-cut chances, and the best opportunities in a drab game fell to Wolves' Kevin Doyle, whose goalbound shot was cleared by Emiliano Insua.

Liverpool's next game was at home to Bolton. They failed to impress, but still managed to grind out a 2–0 win, with Dirk Kuyt grabbing his third goal in as many games as he toe-poked in from close range. Emiliano Insua's long-range strike was deflected into his own net by Kevin Davies for the second. David N'Gog should have added a late third, but missed a sitter, hitting the crossbar from five yards out with the goal gaping. Rafael Benitez praised The Reds' defence, as they kept a third consecutive clean sheet, and a fifth in the last six games.

February

Liverpool prepared to renew rivalries with Everton on February 6 at Anfield. The Toffees were in scintillating form, earning impressive draws at The Emirates and at Stamford Bridge in their nine game unbeaten run. The game turned out to be more of a physical battle than a football match, with Jamie Carragher's tackle on Steven Pienaar within the first 10 seconds setting the precedent. Sotirios Kyrgiakos was sent off on 34 minutes for a lunge on Marouane Fellaini, but the away side failed to capitalise on his absence, particularly in the air. The best chance of the half fell to Everton's Tim Cahill, but his close range header went just over. Liverpool took the lead 10 minutes into the second half, Dirk Kuyt heading in from close range from Steven Gerrard's corner. The home side then had to defend as Everton pinned them back for periods. Liverpool threatened on the break, but could not find a second. Everton disappointed, and despite the introduction of Yakubu and Victor Anichebe, could not create a clear opening. Liverpool held on to complete a second double over Everton in three seasons.

Liverpool's second game of February was away to title contenders Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium. Liverpool lost the game 1-0 thanks to Abou Diaby's fantastic header. However, Liverpool should have had a penalty kick in the dying seconds of the game. Steven Gerrard was awarded a free kick just outside the penalty area, but, to stop the ball possibly going past Arsenal 'keeper Manuel Almunia, captain Cesc Fabregas appeared to have handballed it. Liverpool players rightly appealed for a penalty, but dodgy Referee Howard Webb waved away the protests and blew the full time whistle, unaware that he would get a right shouting at from Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez. Liverpool's penultimate game of February was away to also top 4 challengers Manchester City at Eastlands. The game finished 0-0 in what was a ill disciplined, drab game for both sides. Liverpool players Fernando Torres & Yossi Benayoun both made cameo appearances on their return from injuries, but neither could swing the game in Liverpool's fortunes.

Liverpool's third and final game of February was against to Blackburn Rovers at Anfield. Liverpool had captain Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres on the same scoresheet for only the third time in the Barclays Premier League this season. Steven Gerrard scored after 20 minutes and Fernando Torres netted 2 minutes before half time after Rovers had equalised from the penalty spot after Jamie Carragher's foul in the box.

March

Liverpool opened March with a disappointing 1-0 loss to Wigan Athletic at the DW Stadium. Dirk Kuyt gifted the goal to Wigan, attempting to pass it back to Pepe Reina. Hugo Rodallega skipped past Javier Mascherano and smartly chipped the ball over the oncoming Reina to win the game for the Latics 10 minutes before half time. Glen Johnson came on as a subsitute for Liverpool on his return from injury. Liverpool's second game of March was at home to near relegated Portsmouth. Portsmouth were in the hunt to do the 'double' over Liverpool after their morale boosting 2-0 victory back in December. Fernando Torres opened the scoring for Liverpool with his 14th goal of the season after 28 minutes. Ryan Babel doubled Liverpool's advantage on the half hour mark. Italian Alberto Aquilani scored his first goal in english football to make it 3-0 on 32 minutes. Fernando Torres scored his second of the night and Liverpool's fourth on 77 minutes. Poor Portsmouth grabbed a sole consolation in the last minute thanks to Nadir Belhadj, but Liverpool ran out comfortable winners.

Liverpool's third game of March saw them renew rivalries with old foes Manchester United at Old Trafford. Liverpool took the lead after just 5 minutes after Dutchman Dirk Kuyt released captain Steven Gerrard, who fed in Fernando Torres. Torres shot with excellent power which left United 'keeper Edwin Van Der Sar with no chance. Controversey flaired when Liverpool's Argentinian midfielder Javier Mascherano appeared to have fouled Luis Antonio Valencia in the penalty box. TV replays clearly showed that the foul was outside of the box. Wayne Rooney took the penalty & scored the rebound after Pepe Reina's impressive save. United continued to pour forward in numbers, and finally got the goal their play deserved, when veteran winger Ryan Giggs crossed. The ball missed everyone apart from Ji Sung Park, who scored despite the close attention from the Liverpool defence. The 2-1 win for United was Sir Alex Ferguson's 100th home Barclays Premier League win.

Liverpool wrapped up March with a impressive 3-0 win over Sunderland at Anfield. Liverpool took the lead with only 6 minutes on the clock. Great work from in-form spaniard Fernando Torres on the left resulted in him cutting inside 2 defenders before a high, curling shot flew into the top right hand corner. Liverpool cruised into a 2-0 lead when a corner broke loose to right back Glen Johnson, who skipped past a Sunderland defender before unleashing a left foot strike that took a deflection. Sunderland rarely exerted any pressure to force Liverpool into defensive play in the second half, which meant Liverpool could counter attack without worrying about numbers at the back. During one of these counter attacks, Liverpool scored their third and final goal, with Johnson fooling everyone by releasing the ball through to Fernando Torres. Torres scored into a empty net to give Liverpool three goals and three points.

Results list

Kick Off	Opponents	H / A	Result	Scorers	Referee	Attendance	Pos	Report
2009-08-16 16:00	Tottenham Hotspur	A	1 – 2	Gerrard 56' (pen.)	Phil Dowd	35,935	12th	MR
2009-08-19 20:00	Stoke City	H	4 – 0	Torres 5', Johnson 45', Kuyt 78', N'Gog 90+4'	Peter Walton	44,318	4th	MR
2009-08-24 20:00	Aston Villa	H	1 – 3	Torres 72'	Martin Atkinson	43,667	10th	MR
2009-08-29 15:00	Bolton Wanderers	A	3 – 2	Johnson 41', Torres 57', Gerrard 83'	Alan Wiley	23,284	7th	MR
2009-09-12 15:00	Burnley	H	4 – 0	Benayoun 27', 61', 82', Kuyt 41'	Lee Mason	43,817	4th	MR
2009-09-19 17:15	West Ham United	A	3 – 2	Torres 20', 75', Kuyt 41'	Andre Marriner	34,658	3rd	MR
2009-09-26 15:00	Hull City	H	6 – 1	Torres 12', 28', 47', Gerrard 61', Babel 88', 90'	Peter Walton	44,392	3rd	MR
2009-10-04 16:00	Chelsea	A	0 – 2		Martin Atkinson	41,732	5th	MR
2009-10-17 15:00	Sunderland	A	0 – 1		Michael Jones	47,327	8th	MR
2009-10-25 14:00	Manchester United	H	2 – 0	Torres 65', N'Gog 90+6'	Andre Marriner	44,188	5th	MR
2009-10-31 15:00	Fulham	A	1 – 3	Torres 42'	Lee Mason	25,700	5th	MR
2009-11-09 20:00	Birmingham City	H	2 – 2	N'Gog 13', Gerrard 71' (pen.)	Peter Walton	42,560	7th	MR
2009-11-21 12:45	Manchester City	H	2 – 2	Škrtel 50', Benayoun 77'	Phil Dowd	44,164	7th	MR
2009-11-29 13:30	Everton	A	2 – 0	Yobo 12' (o.g.), Kuyt 80'	Alan Wiley	39,652	5th	MR
2009-12-5 16:00	Blackburn Rovers	A	0 – 0		Martin Atkinson	29,660	7th	MR
2009-12-13 16:00	Arsenal	H	1 – 2	Kuyt 41'	Howard Webb	43,853	7th	MR
2009-12-16 20:00	Wigan Athletic	H	2 – 1	N'Gog 9', Torres 79'	Phil Dowd	41,116	6th	MR
2009-12-19 12:45	Portsmouth	A	0 – 2		Lee Mason	20,534	8th	MR
2009-12-26 17:30	Wolverhampton Wanderers	H	2 – 0	Gerrard 62', Benayoun 70'	Andre Marriner	41,956	7th	MR
2009-12-29 19:45	Aston Villa	A	1 – 0	Torres 90+3'	Lee Probert	42,788	7th	MR
2010-01-16 12:45	Stoke City	A	1 – 1	Kyrgiakos 57'	Lee Mason	27,247	7th	MR
2010-01-20 20:00	Tottenham Hotspur	H	2 – 0	Kuyt 6', 90+2' (pen.)	Howard Webb	42,016	6th	MR
2010-01-26 19:45	Wolverhampton Wanderers	A	0 – 0		Peter Walton	28,763	5th	MR
2010-01-30 15:00	Bolton Wanderers	H	2 – 0	Kuyt 37', Davies 70' (o.g.)	Steve Bennett	43,413	5th	MR
2010-02-06 12:45	Everton	H	1 – 0	Kuyt 55'	Martin Atkinson	44,316	4th	MR
2010-02-10 19:45	Arsenal	A	0 – 1		Howard Webb	60,045	5th	MR
2010-02-21 15:00	Manchester City	A	0 – 0		Peter Walton	47,203	6th	MR
2010-02-28 15:00	Blackburn Rovers	H	2 – 1	Gerrard 20', Torres 43'	Alan Wiley	42,795	6th	MR
2010-03-08 20:00	Wigan Athletic	A	0 – 1		Andre Marriner	17,427	6th	MR
2010-03-15 20:00	Portsmouth	H	4 – 1	Torres 26', 77', Babel 28', Aquilani 32'	Stuart Attwell	40,316	5th	MR
2010-03-21 13:30	Manchester United	A	1 – 2	Torres 5'	Howard Webb	75,216	6th	MR
2010-03-28 16:00	Sunderland	H	3 – 0	Torres 3', 60', Johnson 32'	Phil Dowd	43,121	6th	MR
2010-04-03 15:00	Birmingham City	A	1 – 1	Gerrard 47'	Martin Atkinson	27,909	6th	MR
2010-04-11 15:00	Fulham	H	0 – 0		Andre Marriner	42,331	6th	MR
2010-04-19 20:00	West Ham United	H	–
2010-04-24 15:00	Burnley	A	–
2010-05-01 15:00	Chelsea	H	–
2010-05-09 15:00	Hull City	A	–

Results by round

UEFA Champions League

The draw for the group stage of the UEFA Champions League was made on 27 August 2009 in Monaco. As Liverpool were seeded in Pot 1, this meant that they could not be drawn with teams from the same pot, such as Barcelona, Milan, or Bayern Munich. However, they faced the possibility of being drawn in the same group as Real Madrid, Internazionale, or Juventus. Liverpool were drawn into Group E with 7-times French champions Lyon, Hungarian champions and Champions League debutants Debrecen, and Italian side Fiorentina. Their first match was at home to Debrecen, on 16 September.

Liverpool's managing director Christian Purslow said that the club was "pretty happy" with the draw.

Liverpool's first game was at Anfield, where they faced Debreceni. The Hungarian champions had chances to score in the first half. However, in the last minute of the first half, Fernando Torres' shot was parried by Vukašin Poleksić; however, Dirk Kuyt was on hand to score the opener. In the second half, Liverpool only briefly threatened to score, while the visitors never really had a sustained period of pressure. Rafa Benítez was frustrated by his team's failure to take the many chances they created throughout the match, and was relieved just to get the three points.

Liverpool's next group game was away to Fiorentina. Liverpool were two goals down in the first half after Montenegrin player Stevan Jovetić scored a brace. The Reds raised their game after half time, but ultimately were not able to finish off the chances that they created. Rafa Benítez was irate after the match, vowing that Liverpool will "'never again' be as bad as they were during the first half." Fábio Aurélio, who has played under Benítez for the last nine years, at Valencia and Liverpool, said that he had never seen Benítez so angry as he was at half time at Stadio Artemio Franchi.

Liverpool suffered a second consecutive defeat, at home to Lyon. Although the home side took the lead after 41 minutes through Yossi Benayoun, they struggled to maintain the lead, and the visitors scored an equaliser on 72 minutes through Maxime Gonalons. César Delgado scored the winner for Lyon from close range in the first minute of injury time.

Liverpool's next group game was away at group leaders Lyon. Although Liverpool were missing several first team players through injury, they managed to create several chances, the best of which was spurned by Andriy Voronin. Liverpool dominated the game without ever really posing a potent threat to the host's goal. Substitute Ryan Babel finally opened the scoring for Liverpool with seven minutes to go, with a stunning strike from long range. It looked as if Liverpool were going to hang on to the three points, and keep their hopes alive, but in the 90th minute, Liverpool failed to clear a high ball, and Lisandro López guided the ball past Pepe Reina to inflict Liverpool's worst run in 22 years. This left Liverpool relying on Lyon to defeat Fiorentina at the Stadio Artemio Franchi in their next group game to stay in the competition.

With Rafa Benitez’s men needing nothing less than three points to keep their Champions League hopes alive, they got off to the perfect start inside three minutes. Fábio Aurélio swung over a ball from the right, Jamie Carragher headed it back across goal and David Ngog reacted quickest to poke it in from a few yards out. Liverpool did all they could to keep their Champions League hopes alive, but in the end it just wasn’t enough. A solitary goal gave the Reds all three points on the night against Debrecen but thanks to Fiorentina’s win in Lyon, the 2005 champions were eliminated from the competition at the group stages for the very first time under boss Rafael Benitez. Alberto Aquilani made a cameo appearance with seconds to spare but the game finished 1-0.

Liverpool ended their failed Champions League campaign in defeat as they were beaten 2-1 by Fiorentina which inflicted Liverpool's second successive home defeat in this European competition and also they had the worst points tally in their European history.

Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
Fiorentina	6	5	0	1	14	7	+7	15
Lyon	6	4	1	1	12	3	+9	13
Liverpool	6	2	1	3	5	7	−2	7
Debrecen	6	0	0	6	5	19	−14	0

Matches

Liverpool v Debrecen

16 September 2009	Liverpool	1 – 0	Debrecen	Anfield, Liverpool
19:45	Kuyt 45+1'	Report		Attendance: 41,591 Referee: Pedro Proença (Portugal)

Fiorentina v Liverpool

29 September 2009	Fiorentina	2 – 0	Liverpool	Stadio Artemio Franchi, Florence
19:45	Jovetić 28', 37'	Report		Attendance: 33,426 Referee: Felix Brych (Germany)

Liverpool v Lyon

20 October 2009	Liverpool	1 – 2	Lyon	Anfield, Liverpool
19:45	Benayoun 41'	Report	Gonalons 72' Delgado 90+1'	Attendance: 41,562 Referee: Alberto Undiano Mallenco (Spain)

Lyon v Liverpool

4 November 2009	Lyon	1 – 1	Liverpool	Stade de Gerland, Lyon
20:45	Lisandro 90'	Report	Babel 83'	Attendance: 39,180 Referee: Frank De Bleeckere (Belgium)

Debrecen v Liverpool

24 November 2009	Debrecen	0 – 1	Liverpool	Stadium Puskás Ferenc, Budapest
20:45		Report	Ngog 4'	Attendance: 41,500 Referee: Bjorn Kuipers (Netherlands)

Liverpool v Fiorentina

9 December 2009	Liverpool	1 – 2	Fiorentina	Anfield, Liverpool
19:45	Benayoun 43'	Report	Jorgensen 63' Gilardino 90+2'	Referee: Damir Skomina (Slovenia)

UEFA Europa League

Being unable to get higher than third in this season's Champions League group stage, Liverpool will appear in the Europa League for the first time since the 2003-04 season. For this draw, Liverpool were drawn to Romanian minnows Unirea Urziceni, playing the first leg at Anfield.

The dates for the two legs would be the 18th of February 2010 for the first leg and the 25th of February 2010 for the second leg. Liverpool made 3 changes for the first leg, with Fabio Aurelio coming in for Emiliano Insua, Jamie Carragher being drafted back into the squad to replace Sotirios Kyriagos, and Dirk Kuyt being placed on the right-wing, with David N'Gog the lone striker.

Liverpool started of brightly, with Steven Gerrard having a shot kept out by the Unirea keeper after just 60 seconds & Fabio Aurelio placing a free-kick wide after 3 minutes. Liverpool continued to press throughout the rest of the first-half and for all but 10 minutes of the second-half.

Unirea were proving to be strong in defence, but in the 81st minute, Liverpool finally scored to show for their efforts, substitute Ryan Babel crossing into the path of also substitute Daniel Pacheco, who produced a downward header into David N'Gog, and he headed into an empty net. This meant Liverpool would take a slender 1-0 lead to Romania. In the second leg, Liverpool cruised through to the last 16, winning the tie 3-1 and winning on aggregate 4-1. The game did not start brightly for Liverpool, conceding on 18 minutes after failing to clear their lines. Liverpool equalised on the half hour mark, Javier Mascherano with a powerful low shot into the bottom left hand corner. From their on in, Liverpool scored two more goals courtesy of Ryan Babel and Steven Gerrard goals to send Liverpool into the last 16.

Liverpool faced tough opposition for the last 16, being handed two legged ties with Lille. Liverpool did not play well on the night, and it was no surprise that they conceded in the 85th minute after a Eden Hazard free kick was swung deep into the penalty area and went over Jamie Carragher's and Pepe Reina's heads and into the back of the net. Liverpool will now need to score once to force extra time, or score twice to get to the quarter finals back at Anfield. In the second leg, Liverpool cruised past Lille, with the home side completely dominating the first half. Liverpool opened the scoring in only the 8th minute of the game, with Brazillian Lucas being hauled down in the penalty area after a impressive run from just inside the visitors' half. Captain Steven Gerrard calmy slotted home the penalty in the bottom left hand corner. Back in form striker Fernando Torres doubled Liverpool's lead on the night in the 49th minute with a delicate chip over Lille 'keeper Landreau. Liverpool secured their place in the last 8 when Fernando Torres scored his second of the night and his 4th in 2 games.

The draw for the quarter finals pitted Liverpool against 31 time Portuguese champions Benfica. The first leg will be played on the 1st of April at the Estadio Da Luz. The return leg will be held on the 8th of April at Anfield.

Liverpool started off the first leg well enough to score after 8 minutes. Steven Gerrard earned a free kick right on the edge of the penalty area and rolled it into the path of Danish international Daniel Agger. Agger produced a cheeky back heel from 9 yards out that slightly deflected of a Benfica defender and into the bottom left hand corner to leave the 'keeper Julio Cesar stranded. Benfica were now pressing for periods which forced Liverpool into defensive play. On 31 minutes, Fernando Torres was fouled by Luisão on the far byline. Ryan Babel appeared to have put his hand over Luisão's mouth after calling Torres a 'diving f****** disgrace'. Luisão was originally sent off for his part in the matter, but then it was Ryan Babel who was sent off for putting his hand over Luisão's mouth. Both players will miss the return leg at Anfield on the 8th of Apri. From there on in, Benfica started to really play, with the visitors rarely threatning on the break. Benfica were awarded a penalty when Jamie Carragher accidentally handballed on the far byline and the striker Cardozo tucked the penalty away in the bottom right hand corner. Benfica were then awarded a second penalty when a Liverpool defender hauled down Cardozo just inside the penalty area. Cardozo was again the penalty taker and scored straight down the middle. Liverpool have a vital away goal going into the second leg back at Anfield next week.

Round of 32

Leg 1

Liverpool v Unirea Urziceni

18 February 2010	Liverpool	1 – 0	Unirea Urziceni	Liverpool
20:05 (GMT)	N'Gog 81'	MR		Stadium: Anfield Attendance: 40,450 Referee: Eric Braamhaar (Netherlands)

Leg 2

Unirea Urziceni v Liverpool

25 February 2010	Unirea Urziceni	1 – 3	Liverpool	Bucureşti
18:00 (GMT)	Fernandes 18'	MR	Masherano 30' Babel 41' Gerrard 57'	Stadium: Stadionul Steaua Attendance: 25,000 Referee: Stefan Johannesson

Round of 16

Leg 1

Lille v Liverpool

11 March 2010	Lille	1 – 0	Liverpool	Lille
18:00 (GMT)	Hazard 85'	MR		Stadium: Stadium Nord Lille Métropole Attendance: 18.000 Referee: Alan Larsen

Leg 2

Liverpool v Lille

18 March 2010	Liverpool	3 – 0	Lille	Liverpool
20:05 (GMT)	Gerrard 9' (pen.) Torres 49', 90'	MR		Stadium: Anfield Attendance: 38,139 Referee: Nicola Rizzoli

Quarter-final

Leg 1

Benfica v Liverpool

1 April 2010	Benfica	2 – 1	Liverpool	Lisbon
20:05 GMT	Cardozo 59' (pen.), 79' (pen.)	MR	Agger 9'	Stadium: Estádio da Luz Attendance: 62,629 Referee: Jonas Eriksson

Leg 2

Liverpool v Benfica

8 April 2010	Liverpool	4 – 1	Benfica	Liverpool
20:05 GMT	Kuyt 27', Lucas 34', Torres 59', 82'	MR	Cardozo 70'	Stadium: Anfield Attendance: 42,377 Referee: Björn Kuipers

Semi-final

Leg 1

Atlético Madrid v Liverpool

22 April 2010	Atlético Madrid	–	Liverpool	Madrid
				Stadium: Vicente Calderón Stadium

Leg 2

Liverpool v Atlético Madrid

29 April 2010	Liverpool	–	Atlético Madrid	Liverpool
				Stadium: Anfield

League Cup

The draw for the 3rd round was made on 29 August 2009. Liverpool were drawn away to Leeds United. The League One side raised their game for the occasion, and Elland Road saw a bumper 38,168 crowd. Leeds more than matched Liverpool throughout the first half, and had a Luciano Becchio effort ruled out for offside; however, Liverpool showed their defensive mettle. They scored the game's only goal on 66 minutes, when Javier Mascherano's cross-cum-shot was trapped excellently by David N'Gog, who turned and finished expertly past goalkeeper Shane Higgs.

Liverpool received a tricky away fixture to Arsenal for the fourth round. The Reds fielded a weakened side, but still managed to match Arsenal's youngsters. Philipp Degen had an early chance on 14 minutes, which he failed to put away. Arsenal punished this five minutes later. Andriy Voronin failed to clear, and was dispossessed by Mérida, who turned and smacked the ball from 25 yards, which flew past Diego Cavalieri. Liverpool's Emiliano Insúa levelled the scores with an even better strike on 26 minutes. The ball ricocheted off David N'Gog, and the ball sat up for the young Argentinean to smash a dipping shot over Łukasz Fabiański. Both teams were evenly matched for the rest of the first half. Five minutes into the second half, Nicklas Bendtner put Arsenal back into the lead, when he guided the ball into the roof of the net from close range. Liverpool failed to rouse themselves to react, and despite the introduction of Alberto Aquilani with 15 minutes to go, the visitors could not find the equaliser, and thus were eliminated from the competition. This was the fifth consecutive year that Liverpool had been knocked out at this stage in the capital, and completed a North London double over the Merseyside clubs, following Tottenham Hotspur's 2-0 victory over Everton the previous night.

Leeds United v Liverpool

22 September 2009 Third Round	Leeds United	0 – 1	Liverpool	Leeds
19:45 BST		Report	N'Gog 66'	Stadium: Elland Road Attendance: 38,168 Referee: Alan Wiley

Arsenal v Liverpool

26 October 2009 Fourth Round	Arsenal	2 – 1	Liverpool	London
	Mérida 19' Bendtner 50'	Report	Insúa 26'	Stadium: Emirates Stadium Attendance: 60,004 Referee: Alan Wiley

FA Cup

Liverpool were given a bye to the third round of the FA Cup, where they were drawn away to Championship strugglers Reading. Liverpool drew the tie at the Madejski Stadium 1-1, with Steven Gerrard saving Liverpool's blushes with an equalising goal. The subsequent replay at Anfield did not go to plan; Liverpool lost 2-1 in extra time.

Reading v Liverpool

2 January 2010 Third Round	Reading	1 – 1	Liverpool	Reading
17:15	Church 24'	Report	Gerrard 36'	Stadium: Madejski Stadium Attendance: 23,656 Referee: Martin Atkinson

Liverpool v Reading

13 January 2010 Third Round RP	Liverpool	1 – 2 (a.e.t)	Reading	Liverpool
20:00	Bertrand 45+1' (o.g.)	Report	Sigurðsson 90+4' (pen.) Long 100'	Stadium: Anfield Attendance: 31,063 Referee: Phil Dowd

References

External links

• Official Site 2009-10 Season
• LFC History 2009-10 Season
• Liverpool F.C. season 2009–10 at ESPN