Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply.
Liverpool took a lead through Fernando Torres's first goal for the club, but Chelsea hit back with a disputed penalty,[2] ending the game 1–1.
[3] Referee Rob Styles appeared to book Michael Essien twice without sending him off, similar to Graham Poll at the 2006 World Cup.
[2] Styles later admitted to have made an incorrect decision to award the penalty and, unusually, apologised to Liverpool for his mistake; he was subsequently dropped for the next gameweek.
Before kick-off, the Everton song "Z Cars" echoed around Anfield, in memory of 11-year-old Rhys Jones, a local boy who had been shot dead the previous week.
A last-minute, injury-time, equaliser by Fernando Torres earned the team a 2–2 draw to preserve their unbeaten league record.
The match at Goodison Park was a contentious one, with the referee's performance heavily criticised by Everton manager David Moyes.
[19] On this occasion, however, Liverpool fans had little to celebrate as their hosts Beşiktaş dealt their side's chances of progressing in the competition a serious blow by winning 2–1.
A hat-trick from Yossi Benayoun, a goal from captain Steven Gerrard and two each from both Ryan Babel and Peter Crouch gave Liverpool fans something to celebrate as Liverpool established a new record for margin of victory in a Champions League match (the previous best, 7–0, had been held jointly by Arsenal and Juventus).
Steven Gerrard, who had been booed by the Newcastle fans for his part in England's failure to qualify for UEFA Euro 2008, opened the scoring for the Reds and two more goals from Dirk Kuyt and Ryan Babel gave Liverpool a 3–0 win.
[27] The team ended the month by hosting their penultimate Champions League group game, the must-win visit of Porto.
[31] However, this unbeaten start to the league season was cut short the following week when the visit to Reading resulted in a 3–1 defeat on 8 December.
[32] Three days later, yet again needing a win to guarantee their survival in the competition, Liverpool travelled to Marseille for their final Champions League Group A fixture.
Marseille had previously hosted English teams in Europe on six occasions and won all six times,[33] and only needed a draw to progress themselves.
[35] Three days before Christmas, Liverpool hosted Portsmouth, looking to get their Premier League campaign back on track after two successive defeats.
In the Boxing Day fixture, Liverpool managed a 2–1 victory over Derby, with goals from Fernando Torres and Steven Gerrard respectively, before playing out a goalless draw at the City of Manchester Stadium in their final game of 2007.
Liverpool's first game in March was away against Bolton which they won 3–1 through an own goal by Jussi Jääskeläinen and strikes from Ryan Babel and Fábio Aurélio, his first for the club.
Torres scored the only goal early in the match, and Liverpool held on to win 1–0, giving them a five-point lead over Everton for fourth place.
On 1 April, in the Champions League, Liverpool faced Arsenal for the first of three consecutive meetings, a 1–1 draw at the Emirates Stadium with Dirk Kuyt scoring an away goal.
In the following game, Steven Gerrard scored in his 300th Liverpool appearance in the Premier League in a 3–1 home win over Blackburn Rovers.
The following Saturday, Liverpool put out a weakened side against Fulham ahead of their semi-final first leg with Chelsea and won 2–0, with Jermaine Pennant and Peter Crouch getting on the scoresheet.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply.