text: history of liverpool f.c. ( 1985 – present ) the history of liverpool football club from 1985 to the 2015 – 16 liverpool f.c. season covers the period from the appointment of kenny dalglish as manager , the hillsborough disaster , the club 's return to european competition in 1991 , and the club 's performance in the premier league . dalglish was appointed as manager after joe fagan resigned following the heysel stadium disaster , which resulted in liverpool being banned from european competition for an indefinite period . dalglish had the dual role of player and manager and in his first season the club won the league championship and fa cup . they failed to retain the title the following season finishing second to neighbours everton f.c. the club regained the league championship , but lost the final of the fa cup to wimbledon f.c. , to prevent a repeat of the double . the following season saw the club involved in one of the worst disasters to occur at an english football stadium . 96 of the club 's supports lost their lives on 15 april 1989 , as a consequence of being crushed against perimeter fencing due to overcrowding at the leppings lane end of hillsborough stadium , during an fa cup semi - final against nottingham forest . liverpool subsequently won the fa cup , defeating everton in the final . they again missed out on the double , as they were beaten to the league championship by arsenal by goals scored , after the two teams finished the season tied on 76 points . liverpool regained the league championship in the 1989 – 90 season to win their 18th title . dalglish resigned the following season , as liverpool finished second to arsenal . former player graeme souness was appointed as manager and he won the fa cup in his first full season in charge . despite this , the club finished in sixth position , the first time they had finished outside the top two since 1981 . liverpool fared no better in the 1992 – 93 season , again finishing sixth . a poor start to the 1993 – 94 season resulted in souness being replaced by roy evans midway through the season . liverpool improved to fourth the following season and won the football league cup . the team improved under evans ' stewardship finishing fourth , third and fourth in the following season under his reign . they also reached the final of the fa cup in 1996 but lost to manchester united . after finishing third during the 1997 – 98 season , gérard houllier was appointed co - manager alongside evans . the arrangement lasted until november when evans resigned . the team improved under houllier and after finishing fourth during the 1999 – 2000 season , they won a unique treble of trophies the following season . they finished second to arsenal during the 2001 – 02 season , their highest league finish since 1991 . the following seasons were disappointing as liverpool were unable to improve on the previous season 's exploits finishing fifth and fourth respectively . houllier was sacked at the end of the 2003 – 04 season . houllier 's replacement was rafael benítez . liverpool won the uefa champions league for the fifth time in benítez 's first season beating milan in the final . this was followed by success in the fa cup the following season . midway through the following season , liverpool were bought by americans tom hicks and george gillett . the club again reached the final of the uefa champions league against milan , but this time , they were defeated by 2 – 1 . the 2008 – 09 season saw liverpool finish second in the league to manchester united . despite this , the following season was a disappointment , as the club finished in seventh place . benítez left at the end of the season and was replaced by roy hodgson . at the start of the 2010 – 11 season , liverpool were on the verge of bankruptcy . the club were sold to new england sports ventures following a high court ruling after the club 's creditors requested the club be sold . hodgson was replaced by former manager dalglish midway through the season . he won the football league cup in his second spell , but was replaced by brendan rodgers after finishing eighth in the 2011 – 12 season . 1985 – 90 : success at a cost dalglish became manager following the resignation of fagan after the heysel stadium disaster . he started by replacing long - serving full - backs phil neal and alan kennedy with steve nicol and jim . liverpool began the 1985 – 86 season poorly and were ten points behind manchester united at the end of september . the club continued to struggle until the end of the season when they won eleven of their last twelve matches , as their rivals were dropping points . liverpool needed to beat chelsea in the last game of the season to win the league championship . a goal from dalglish secured the championship . the club also progressed to the final of the fa cup , where they faced everton . liverpool went behind to a first - half goal from gary lineker , but two goals from ian rush and a craig johnston goal in the second half secured a 3 – 1 victory . thus , the club had achieved a double of league championship and fa cup in the same season for the first time . at the start of the 1986 – 87 season , rush announced his intention to leave liverpool for italian team juventus when the season was finished . rush did not want to leave , but the club decided to sell him , due to the expulsion from european competition affecting the club 's cash - flow . midway through the season , dalglish signed john aldridge , who would replace rush when he left . despite his impending departure , rush scored 40 goals . it was not enough to help liverpool retain the trophies they won the previous season , as they finished second in the league behind everton , and were knocked out of the fa cup in the third round by luton town . the club did reach the final of the football league cup , but they were beaten 2 – 1 by arsenal . at the end of the season , dalglish signed peter beardsley and john barnes to improve their attacking options . the signings had the desired effect as liverpool regained the league championship . they did not suffer defeat until their 29th match against everton , one of two losses during the season . the club had the chance to complete the double , as they reached the final of the fa cup against wimbledon . although favourites against a club who had only become a member of the football league eleven years previously , they lost the match 1 – 0 . rush returned to liverpool for the start of the 1988 – 89 season , due to homesickness . liverpool struggled at the start of the season and by january they were nine points behind leaders arsenal . however , by april the teams were level on points , with arsenal leading on goal difference . by this time , liverpool had reached the semi - finals of the fa cup against nottingham forest at hillsborough stadium on 15 april 1989 . within six minutes the match was abandoned ; overcrowding at the leppings lane end of the ground resulted in the death of ninety - six people , as they were crushed against perimeter fencing . ninety - four fans died , in what became known as the hillsborough disaster , that day ; the 95th victim died in hospital from his injuries four days later and the 96th died nearly four years later , without regaining consciousness . liverpool won the replayed match 3 – 1 to reach the final against everton . they led for the majority of the match courtesy of a goal from aldridge . stuart mccall scored in the 89th minute to take the game into extra - time . substitute rush scored in the 95th minute , but mccall scored again in the 102nd minute to level the match . another goal from rush two minutes later , secured a 3 – 2 victory for liverpool . once again , liverpool had a chance to complete the double . their final match of the season was against second - placed arsenal , who were three points behind . the game had originally been scheduled for 23 april , but liverpool 's fa cup commitments meant it was postponed and rearranged for 26 may . arsenal needed to win the match by two clear goals to win the league championship . they took the lead in the 52nd minute when striker alan smith scored . with the match in injury time , michael thomas scored to give arsenal a 2 – 0 victory . the result meant arsenal won the championship on goals scored . following the end of the season , an inquiry , headed by lord taylor was set up to establish the causes of the hillsborough disaster . the subsequent taylor report , published in 1990 , found that failure of police control was the main reason for the disaster and recommended that major stadia remove terracing and become all - seater stadia . liverpool started the 1989 – 90 season in good form , exemplified by a 9 – 0 victory over newly promoted crystal palace . eight different players scored for the club , the only time this has occurred in english football . the club endured a blip in october and november when they lost four games , but they recovered to go unbeaten until a 1 – 0 loss to tottenham hotspur in march . following the match , liverpool signed forward ronny rosenthal on loan from standard liège to boost their attacking options . his impact was immediate , he scored seven goals in eight appearances , including a hat - trick against charlton athletic to help liverpool to their eighteenth league championship . the club progressed to the semi - finals of the fa cup , but they were unable to defend the trophy , losing 4 – 3 to crystal palace after extra - time . 1990 – 98 : decline liverpool started the 1990 – 91 season in good form , as they won their first eight league games . they remained unbeaten until a 3 – 0 loss to arsenal in december , which was followed by another to crystal palace at the end of the month . the club 's form began to tail off and arsenal moved above them in january . after a 4 – 4 draw against everton in an fa cup replay in february , dalglish announced his resignation as manager , citing stress as the reason . coach ronnie moran was installed as caretaker manager , he won three of the ten matches he was in charge of , as they fell further behind arsenal . former player graeme souness was announced as manager in april , but the club were unable to catch arsenal , who won the league by seven points . souness reshaped the team during the 1991 – 92 season , which not been replenished by dalglish , since the signings of barnes and beardsley . beardsley , gary gillespie and steve mcmahon were sold . he bought dean saunders for £ 2 . 9 million , but the league campaign was unsuccessful for liverpool , as they finished in sixth position , the first time they had finished outside the top two since 1981 . the club did reach the final of the fa cup against sunderland , which they won 2 – 0 . the season saw liverpool compete in europe for the first time since the heysel stadium disaster in 1985 , they were readmitted a year after other english clubs . competing in the uefa cup , liverpool reached the quarter - finals , where they beaten by italian team genoa 4 – 1 over two - legs . the boot room , which had been a meeting place for liverpool 's coaches since bill shankly was manager was demolished during souness ' time at the club . a new press room was built in its place . anfield was redeveloped at the start of the 1992 – 93 season following the recommendations of the taylor report . a second tier was added to the kemlyn road stand , which included executive boxes and function suites as well as 11 , 000 seats . renamed the centenary stand , it was officially opened on 1 september 1992 by union of european football associations ( uefa ) president lennart johansson . in the inaugural season of the premier league , liverpool performed poorly ; they again finished in sixth place , losing fifteen of their forty - two matches . they did not fare better in cup competitions , exiting early in the fa cup , league cup and uefa cup winners ' cup . the 1993 – 94 season started well for liverpool as they won their first three games . however , their form dipped in the league as they lost four consecutive games . one positive was the emergence of striker robbie fowler from the club 's youth team . he scored on his first - team debut against fulham in the first leg of the league cup and scored all five goals in the return leg as liverpool won 5 – 0 . liverpool continued to struggle during the season , culminating in a defeat to bristol city in an fa cup replay . souness was sacked after the match and replaced by coach roy evans . the club 's form did not improve under evans and they ended the season in eighth place after losing sixteen of their forty - two games . liverpool began to fall behind their rivals off the pitch . their rivals manchester united made £ 93 million after they were floated on the stock market , while liverpool made £ 22 million when media company granada bought 9 . 9 % of the club . following on from the construction of the centenary stand , the spion kop was redeveloped for the start of the 1994 – 95 season . the stand became all - seater , retaining the single tier with a reduced capacity of 12 , 000 . evans first full season in charge was more successful than the previous seasons . liverpool finished the season in fourth place , their best finish since the departure of dalglish . the club performed well in cup competitions ; they reached the sixth round of the fa cup , before losing 2 – 1 to tottenham hotspur and reached the final of the league cup against bolton wanderers . two goals from steve mcmanaman helped liverpool to a 2 – 1 victory as they won their fifth league cup . the season also saw a number of long - serving players leave the club , as grobbelaar , steve nicol and ronnie whelan departed . before the start of the 1995 – 96 season , liverpool signalled their intent to improve upon the previous season , signing forward stan collymore for a british club record £ 8 . 5 million . collymore made an immediate impact , scoring the only goal in a 1 – 0 win over sheffield wednesday in the first game of the season . liverpool were unable to sustain a challenge for the league championship over the course of the season and finished in third place . the club reached the final of the fa cup against manchester united . however , an 85th - minute goal from eric cantona secured a 1 – 0 victory for united . liverpool started the 1996 – 97 season in good form , and by the turn of the year they were top of the league , two points clear of arsenal . the club were unable to maintain their form during the rest of the season , losses to coventry city , manchester united and wimbledon resulted in the club finishing the season in fourth position . despite early exits in the league and fa cup , liverpool reached the semi - finals of the uefa cup winners ' cup . they were unable to progress after a 3 – 0 defeat in the first - leg , despite winning the second leg 2 – 0 and were knocked out 3 – 2 on aggregate against french team paris saint - germain . liverpool were without striker fowler for the start of the 1997 – 98 season after he suffered knee ligament damage in a pre - season friendly . this was offset by the emergence of michael owen , who scored eighteen goals from thirty - six appearances . paul ince was signed to replace barnes who left the club to join newcastle united . despite this , liverpool were unable to challenge eventual winners arsenal and finished thirteen points behind in third place . further redevelopment took place at anfield during the season with a second tier added to the anfield road stand . 1998 – 2006 : fluctuating fortunes liverpool appointed frenchman gérard houllier as co - manager alongside evans for the 1998 – 99 season . the arrangement did not last long , poor results put pressure on the partnership and after a 3 – 1 defeat by tottenham hotspur in the league cup , evans resigned . houllier 's first game as sole manager was a 3 – 1 defeat to leeds united . liverpool 's form did not improve under houllier and early exits in the uefa and fa cup , were followed with the club finishing the season in seventh place outside of the qualification spots for european competition . houllier reshaped the squad at the start of the 1999 – 2000 season . a number of players were brought into the squad such as dietmar hamann , sami hyypiä and sander westerveld , while players such as david james , ince and mcmanaman left the club . houllier continued the reshaping into the season when he signed forward emile heskey for a then club record £ 11 million in march . liverpool failed to secure a return to the uefa champions league , as they finished the season in fourth place . their also performed poorly in the fa and league cup , exiting early in both competitions . the 2000 – 01 season was the best in recent years for liverpool , as they won three competitions to complete a unique treble of trophies . the first trophy the club won was the league cup after they beat birmingham city 5 – 4 in a penalty shoot - out after the match had finished 1 – 1 . they then won the fa cup , as owen scored two goals in the last ten minutes to overturn a one - goal deficit to win the match 2 – 1 against arsenal . the final trophy the club won was the uefa cup . an own goal in the last minute of extra time by delfí geli secured a 5 – 4 victory over spanish team alavés . liverpool finished the season in third place in the league , securing a return to the european cup ( now rebranded as the uefa champions league ) for the first time since the heysel stadium disaster in 1985 . liverpool 's participation in the uefa champions league in the 2001 – 02 season saw the club reach the quarter - finals , where they were eliminated by german team bayer leverkusen 4 – 3 on aggregate . the season was liverpool 's best in the league in recent years , as they finished in second place , seven points behind arsenal . despite their improved performance in the league , liverpool were unable to defend the fa and league cup they won the previous season exiting in the fourth and third rounds respectively . the season was overshadowed by heart problems that affected houllier . he suffered chest pain at half - time during a match with leeds united at anfield . he subsequently had an eleven - hour operation to fix an acute dissection of the aorta and did not return until february . his assistant phil thompson took charge of the team in the interim . signed a number of players at the start of the 2002 – 03 season , including bruno cheyrou , salif and el - hadji diouf . the former was preferred to nicolas anelka , despite the latter performing well during his loan from paris saint - germain the previous season . liverpool were unbeaten in their first twelve games in the league , which gave them a seven - point lead . a defeat to middlesbrough in their next game , started a run of twelve games without victory until they beat southampton 1 – 0 in january . the club were unable to regain their form from earlier in the season and finished the season in fifth place . despite early exits in the fa cup and uefa champions league , liverpool won the league cup defeating manchester united in the final . the 2003 – 04 season started poorly for liverpool as they lost their first game 2 – 1 to chelsea . their form did not improve and by the end of the year they had lost six of their eighteen matches in the league . the club 's form improved in the second half of the season and they only lost a further four games to finish in fourth position securing a place in the 2004 – 05 uefa champions league . liverpool 's form in cup competitions was poor as they exited the uefa and league cup in the fourth round . they progressed a round further in the fa cup , but were eliminated by portsmouth 1 – 0 in a replay . at the end of the season houllier was replaced as manager by rafael benítez . the 2004 – 05 season was a disappointment in the league as liverpool finished in fifth place outside of the uefa champions league qualification places . despite their poor form in the league , the club performed well in cup competitions , the fa cup withstanding , where they were eliminated in the third round by burnley . the club reached the final of the league cup , but were unable to beat chelsea , losing 3 – 2 . liverpool also reached the final of the uefa champions league and it appeared the club would lose their second final of the season when they were 3 – 0 down to italian team milan at half - time . however , three goals in six minutes meant liverpool drew level at 3 – 3 . no goals in extra time meant the match went to a penalty shoot - out , which they won 3 – 2 . a fifth - place finish in the premier league meant liverpool were not guaranteed entry into the champions league and faced the prospect of not being able to defend their european title . uefa eventually ruled that they would be allowed to do so , but liverpool would be required to start in the first qualifying round . despite being allowed to enter the competition they were unable to defend the trophy , as they were eliminated in the first knockout round by portuguese team benfica . liverpool 's performance in the league improved in the 2005 – 06 season as they finished in third place . they also reached the final of the fa cup where they faced west ham united . liverpool won 3 – 1 in a penalty shoot - out after the match finished 3 – 3 to win the competition . 2006 – present : the 2006 – 07 season saw liverpool come under new ownership as american businessmen george gillett and tom hicks bought the club in a deal which valued it and its outstanding debts at £ 218 . 9 million . liverpool again finished the season in third place , as they finished twenty - one points behind manchester united . despite exiting to arsenal in both the fa and league cup , the club reached final of the uefa champions league where they again faced milan . the result was different from the match in 2005 , as liverpool were unable to recover a two - goal deficit and lost the match 2 – 1 benítez made a number of signings , including ryan babel , yossi benayoun and fernando torres for a club record £ 24 million , in an attempt to improve the club 's performance during the 2007 – 08 season . the signings , torres in particular , who scored 33 goals during the season , had an effect as the club only lost four league games during the season . however , they drew thirteen of their thirty - eight matches and finished the season in fourth place . liverpool exited the fa and league cup in the fifth round , but performed well in the uefa champions league . they reached the semi - finals for the third time in four seasons , where they faced chelsea , who won 4 – 3 on aggregate . the 2008 – 09 season was the club 's best in recent years . a 5 – 1 victory over newcastle united in december gave liverpool a three - point lead in the league with half of the season remaining . they suffered a blip in january , not winning any games and despite good form for the remainder of the season , they were unable to catch manchester united and finished in second place . liverpool 's form in the league did not carry over to the fa and league cup as they were eliminated in the fourth round of both competitions . they performed better in the uefa champions league , where the club reached the quarter - finals , but were again eliminated by chelsea . the 2009 – 10 season was a disappointment for liverpool as they were unable to improve on the previous season 's performance , finishing seventh in the league . they lost eleven matches , nine more than the previous season , to finish outside the top four for the first time since 2005 . the club also suffered poor form in the uefa champions league , they were eliminated in the group stages and subsequently entered the uefa cup ( now rebranded as the uefa europa league ) . they performed better in the europa league , where they reached the semi - finals . their opponents were spanish team atlético madrid , who progressed to the final on the away goals rule after the tie finished 2 – 2 on aggregate . benitez left the club by mutual consent at the end of the season and was replaced by roy hodgson . the club was sold to fenway sports group during the 2010 – 11 season . accounts had shown that liverpool were £ 350 million in debt with losses of £ 55 million , causing auditor kpmg to qualify its audit opinion . the royal bank of scotland who were the club 's creditors , took owners gillett and hicks to court to force through a sale . the court ruled in the creditors favour and the club was sold to fenway sports group for £ 300 million on 15 october 2010 . on the pitch , liverpool 's performances were poor . a 3 – 1 defeat to blackburn rovers in january , left the club in twelfth place in the league with nine defeats from twenty games . hodgson was sacked after the match and replaced by former manager dalglish . despite a loss in his first match against manchester united in the fa cup , liverpool improved under dalglish and eventually finished the season in sixth place . dalglish bought a number of players at the start of the 2011 – 12 season , including charlie adam , stewart downing and jordan henderson . despite the arrival of new players , their performance in the league did not improve , as they finished in eighth place , the club 's worst finish in eighteen years . liverpool performed markedly better in the league and fa cup , as they reached the final of both competitions . the club won a record eighth league cup , with a 3 – 2 penalty shoot - out victory against cardiff city after the match finished 2 – 2 . liverpool were unable to repeat their success in the fa cup , as they lost the final 2 – 1 to chelsea . the season was marred by the luis suárez racial abuse incident in october during a match against manchester united , in which suárez racially abused patrice evra , and was fined £ 40k and banned for eight games . dalglish was sacked at the end of the season and replaced by brendan rodgers . in the 2013 – 14 season , liverpool challenged for their first league title since 1990 . in april 2014 , after a run of 11 consecutive victories , they lost 2 – 0 at home to chelsea . the following match they led 3 – 0 after 78 minutes , but ended in a 3 – 3 draw to crystal palace , as manchester city won the league . in july , suárez was sold to barcelona for £ 75 million , and the following january gerrard agreed a move to the la galaxy at the end of the campaign , ending 17 years at the club . rodgers was sacked after a poor start to the 2015 – 16 season , and was replaced by german jürgen klopp . liverpool were unsuccessful in the finals of the league cup and uefa europa league , losing the former 3 – 1 in a penalty shootout after the match finished 1 – 1 , and the latter 3 – 1 to spanish team sevilla in basel .