Norwich were rebuilding their squad after relegation from the first division and had looked set to sign striker Trevor Senior from Reading, however when he opted to stay with the Royals they turned their attention to Drinkell.
It won him the Golden Boot for being the division's top scorer as well as the first of two consecutive Norwich City player of the year awards.
The score was 1–1 late in the game, when Drinkell picked up the ball at the edge of the area and hit a fierce shot from a difficult angle past Liverpool goalkeeper Bruce Grobbelaar.
It ended one of the most famous statistics in football, as it was the first time that Liverpool had lost a league match in which Ian Rush had scored.
Drinkell added a further 12 league goals in 1987–88, though the Canaries finished in the bottom half of the table this time – a decline in form which had seen Brown dismissed as manager in favour of coach Dave Stringer in December 1987.