Featured Article Summary #186

From 1985 to today, Liverpool’s story includes the appointment of Kenny Dalglish, the Hillsborough disaster, and a return to European football in 1991. After Joe Fagan resigned in the wake of the 1985 Heysel Stadium disaster, Dalglish led Liverpool to major domestic success, including a league and FA Cup double in his first season. In April 1989, the Hillsborough disaster during an FA Cup semi-final killed 97 Liverpool fans, and the aftermath led to changes such as turning Anfield into an all-seater stadium to meet the Taylor Report’s recommendations. The club later won the UEFA Champions League under Rafael Benítez in his first season and went on to achieve more cup success, while ownership and financial problems led to a sale in 2011. After Brendan Rodgers was sacked in 2015, Jürgen Klopp rebuilt the team, winning the Champions League in 2019 and then securing the Premier League title in 2019–20—their first league crown in 30 years. Dalglish took over after the Heysel disaster and reshaped the team, starting poorly in 1985–86 but finishing strongly to win the league with a late title goal against Chelsea; they also won the FA Cup to complete a first league-and-cup double. The next seasons brought more success and losses—Rush was sold and replaced, Liverpool regained the league, but their 1989 season ended in tragedy at Hillsborough, where a crowd crush killed 97 people, though Liverpool won the replay to reach the final. Despite further league success in 1989–90, including a record 9–0 win and Rosenthal’s goals, they were knocked out of the FA Cup, and the Taylor Report later blamed police failures and urged major stadiums to become all-seater. Liverpool’s early promise in 1990–91 faded, and after a string of poor results Dalglish resigned as manager due to stress. Graeme Souness took over, changed the squad, and Liverpool won the FA Cup but finished sixth in 1991–92 and were again pushed down by weaker league form, including a quarter-final exit in the UEFA Cup. Over the next few seasons, Anfield was redeveloped and Liverpool reached major cup finals, winning the 1995 League Cup and the 1996 third-place league finish before losing the 1996 FA Cup to Manchester United and finishing fourth in 1996–97, while 1997–98 brought the rise of Michael Owen after Fowler’s injury. Gérard Houllier took over full responsibility in 1998–99 after Evans resigned, but Liverpool struggled, leaving them seventh in the league and knocked out early in major cups. After he reshaped the squad for 1999–2000, results improved dramatically: Liverpool won a treble by taking the League Cup, FA Cup, and UEFA Cup, returning to the European Cup for the first time since Heysel. They then had mixed seasons, though they reached the Champions League quarter-finals, coped with Houllier’s serious heart problems, won the League Cup in 2002–03, and by 2004–05 produced the famous “Miracle of Istanbul” to win the UEFA Champions League. Although league form often fell short and they were not always guaranteed European entry, they finished strongly in 2005–06 with third place and won the 2006 FA Cup final on penalties after a 3–3 draw with West Ham. After new owners George Gillett and Tom Hicks took over in 2006–07, Liverpool had another strong European run but narrowly missed out on major silverware, losing the 2007 Champions League Final 2–1 to Milan after falling behind early. Benítez brought in major signings, especially Fernando Torres, but the next few seasons were mixed: they finished third in 2007–08 and second in 2008–09, before slipping to seventh in 2009–10 and reaching only the Europa League semi-finals. Financial trouble led to Fenway Sports Group buying the club in 2010, and on-field results stayed volatile under different managers, culminating in cup finals, the Suarez racial abuse incident, the Suarez-to-Barcelona sale in 2014, Gerrard leaving in 2015, and Rodgers being sacked after a poor start to 2015–16.