1965–66 Liverpool F.C. season

The 1965–66 season was Liverpool Football Club's 74th season in existence and their fourth consecutive season in the First Division. Liverpool F.C. won its seventh league title, tying Arsenal's record, with a six-point cushion to Leeds and Burnley. Roger Hunt scored 29 league goals, which earned him a place in the England squad for the World Cup, where he became the first player to win the World Cup representing Liverpool. It was not until 44 years later that Fernando Torres played an active part in the Spanish team winning the World Cup as a Liverpool player.

Liverpool F.C.

1965–66 season
Manager	Bill Shankly
First Division	Champions
Cup Winners' Cup	Runners-up
FA Cup	Third round
FA Charity Shield	Title shared
Top goalscorer	League: Roger Hunt (29) All: Roger Hunt (32)
Home colours Away colours

The season also saw Liverpool reaching its first European final, that of the Cup Winners Cup, losing 2-1 to West German side Borussia Dortmund at Hampden Park in Glasgow, a severe blow to manager Bill Shankly, who had hoped to win his first European trophy in his native Scotland.

The club permanently adopted an all red strip at the start of this season.

Squad

Goalkeepers

• Tommy Lawrence
• William Molyneux

Defenders

• Gerry Byrne
• Chris Lawler
• Thomas Lowry
• Tommy Smith
• Ron Yeats

Midfielders

• Alf Arrowsmith
• Ian Callaghan
• Gordon Milne
• Willie Stevenson
• Ian St. John
• Gordon Wallace
• Peter Thompson

Attackers

• Phil Chisnall
• Bobby Graham
• Roger Hunt
• Geoff Strong

First Division

Table

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GAv	Pts	Qualification or relegation
1	Liverpool (C)	42	26	9	7	79	34	2.324	61	Qualification for the European Cup first round
2	Leeds United	42	23	9	10	79	38	2.079	55	Qualification for the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup second round
3	Burnley	42	24	7	11	79	47	1.681	55	Qualification for the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup first round
4	Manchester United	42	18	15	9	84	59	1.424	51
5	Chelsea	42	22	7	13	65	53	1.226	51

Source: World Football
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal average; 3) Goals scored
(C) Champions

Matches

Main article: 1965–66 Football League § First Division

Date	Opponents	Venue	Result	Scorers	Attendance	Report 1	Report 2
21-Aug-65	Leicester City	A	3–1	Hunt 35', 80' Strong 53'	29,696	Report	Report
25-Aug-65	Sheffield United	H	0–1		47,259	Report	Report
01-Sep-65	Sheffield United	A	0–0		20,798	Report	Report
04-Sep-65	Blackpool	A	3–2	Hunt 25', 58' Callaghan 75'	25,616	Report	Report
06-Sep-65	West Ham United	A	5–1	Milne 12' Callaghan 26' Hunt 43', 43', 50'	32,144	Report	Report
11-Sep-65	Fulham	H	2–1	Lawler 6' Hunt 60'	46,382	Report	Report
15-Sep-65	West Ham United	H	1–1	Strong 76'	44,397	Report	Report
18-Sep-65	Tottenham Hotspur	A	1–2	Strong 80'	46,770	Report	Report
25-Sep-65	Everton	H	5–0	Smith 34' Hunt 49', 73' Stevenson 52' St. John 89'	53,557	Report	Report
02-Oct-65	Aston Villa	H	3–1	Thompson 12', 56' St. John 89'	43,859	Report	Report
09-Oct-65	Manchester United	A	0–2		58,161	Report	Report
16-Oct-65	Newcastle United	H	2–0	Hunt 26' Callaghan 41'	47,984	Report	Report
23-Oct-65	West Bromwich Albion	A	0–3		30,000	Report	Report
30-Oct-65	Nottingham Forest	H	4–0	Stevenson 49 pen' Hunt 72', 83' St. John 89'	38,420	Report	Report
06-Nov-65	Sheffield Wednesday	A	2–0	Hunt 74' Thompson 83'	24,456	Report	Report
13-Nov-65	Northampton Town	H	5–0	St. John 6' Stevenson 17 pen' Hunt 32' Callaghan 63' Thompson 65'	41,904	Report	Report
17-Nov-65	Blackburn Rovers	H	5–2	Stevenson 17 pen' St. John 32', 87' Hunt 45' Smith 83'	36,450	Report	Report
20-Nov-65	Stoke City	A	0–0		28,622	Report	Report
27-Nov-65	Burnley	H	2–1	Hunt 45' Milne 61'	50,282	Report	Report
04-Dec-65	Chelsea	A	1–0	Hunt 73'	36,839	Report	Report
11-Dec-65	Arsenal	H	4–2	Thompson 30' St. John 51' Strong 70' Hunt 80'	43,727	Report	Report
18-Dec-65	Newcastle United	A	0–0		42,910	Report	Report
27-Dec-65	Leeds United	H	0–1		53,430	Report	Report
28-Dec-65	Leeds United	A	1–0	Milne 48'	49,192	Report	Report
01-Jan-66	Manchester United	H	2–1	Smith 39' Milne 88'	53,970	Report	Report
08-Jan-66	Arsenal	A	1–0	Yeats 87'	43,917	Report	Report
15-Jan-66	West Bromwich Albion	H	2–2	Milne 37' Byrne 44'	46,687	Report	Report
29-Jan-66	Leicester City	H	1–0	Lawler 75'	45,409	Report	Report
05-Feb-66	Blackburn Rovers	A	4–1	Lawler 25' Hunt 43' St. John 63', 76'	30,414	Report	Report
12-Feb-66	Sunderland	H	4–0	Hunt 46', 52', 64' Yeats 59'	43,859	Report	Report
19-Feb-66	Blackpool	H	4–1	Hunt 28', 80' Arrowsmith 40' Milne 48'	45,046	Report	Report
26-Feb-66	Fulham	A	0–2		31,626	Report	Report
12-Mar-66	Tottenham Hotspur	H	1–0	Own Goal 65'	50,760	Report	Report
19-Mar-66	Everton	A	0–0		62,537	Report	Report
26-Mar-66	Aston Villa	A	3–0	Hunt 42', 62' Callaghan 49'	23,625	Report	Report
06-Apr-66	Sheffield Wednesday	H	1–0	Stevenson 23'	44,792	Report	Report
09-Apr-66	Northampton Town	A	0–0		20,029	Report	Report
11-Apr-66	Sunderland	A	2–2	Lawler 1', 24'	38,355	Report	Report
16-Apr-66	Stoke City	H	2–0	Strong 31' St. John 78'	41,106	Report	Report
23-Apr-66	Burnley	A	0–2		36,741	Report	Report
30-Apr-66	Chelsea	H	2–1	Hunt 48', 69'	53,754	Report	Report
10-May-66	Nottingham Forest	A	1–1	Milne 60'	22,105	Report	Report

FA Charity Shield

Main article: 1965 FA Charity Shield

14 August 1965

15:00 BST

Manchester United	2–2	Liverpool
Best 28' Herd 81'	Report Report	Stevenson 38' Yeats 86'

Old Trafford, Manchester

Attendance: 48,502

Referee: Jim Finney

GK 1 Pat Dunne RB 2 Shay Brennan LB 3 Tony Dunne RH 4 Pat Crerand CH 5 Noel Cantwell (c) LH 6 Nobby Stiles OR 7 George Best IR 8 Bobby Charlton CF 9 David Herd IL 10 Denis Law OL 11 John Aston, Jr. Substitutes: FW 12 Willie Anderson Manager: Matt Busby

GK 1 Tommy Lawrence RB 2 Chris Lawler LB 3 Gerry Byrne RH 4 Gordon Milne CH 5 Ron Yeats (c) LH 6 Willie Stevenson OR 7 Ian Callaghan IR 8 Roger Hunt CF 9 Ian St. John IL 10 Tommy Smith OL 11 Geoff Strong Manager: Bill Shankly

Match rules 90 minutes, no extra time One named substitute Maximum of one substitution

FA Cup

Main article: 1965–66 FA Cup

Date	Opponents	Venue	Result	Scorers	Attendance	Report 1	Report 2
22-Jan-66	Chelsea	H	1–2	Hunt 2'	54,097	Report	Report

European Cup Winners Cup

Main article: 1965–66 European Cup Winners' Cup

Date	Opponents	Venue	Result	Scorers	Attendance	Report 1	Report 2
29-Sep-65	Juventus	A	0–1		9,242	Report	Report
13-Oct-65	Juventus	H	2–0	Lawler 19' Strong 24'	51,055	Report	Report
01-Dec-65	Standard Liège	H	3–1	Lawler 2', 49' Thompson 72'	46,112	Report	Report
15-Dec-65	Standard Liège	A	2–1	Hunt 51' St. John 57'	29,534	Report	Report
01-Mar-66	Honvéd	A	0–0		16,163	Report	Report
08-Mar-66	Honvéd	H	2–0	Lawler 28' St. John 47'	54,631	Report	Report
14-Apr-66	Celtic	A	0–1		76,446	Report	Report
19-Apr-66	Celtic	H	2–0	Smith 61' Strong 67'	54,208	Report	Report

Final

Main article: 1966 European Cup Winners' Cup Final

5 May 1966

19:30 BST

Borussia Dortmund	2–1 (a.e.t.)	Liverpool
Held 61' Libuda 107'	Report Report	Hunt 68'

Hampden Park, Glasgow

Attendance: 41,657

Referee: Pierre Schwinte (France)

Borussia Dortmund

Liverpool

GK 1 Hans Tilkowski RB 2 Gerhard Cyliax LB 3 Theodor Redder MF 4 Dieter Kurrat CB 5 Wolfgang Paul (c) MF 6 Rudi Assauer RW 7 Reinhard Libuda IN 8 Aki Schmidt CF 9 Sigfried Held IN 10 Wilhelm Sturm LW 11 Lothar Emmerich Manager: Willi Multhaup

GK 1 Tommy Lawrence RB 2 Chris Lawler LB 3 Gerry Byrne MF 4 Gordon Milne CB 5 Ron Yeats (c) MF 6 Willie Stevenson RW 7 Ian Callaghan IN 8 Roger Hunt CF 9 Ian St. John IN 10 Tommy Smith LW 11 Peter Thompson Manager: Bill Shankly

References

• LFC History.net – 1965-66 season
• Liverweb - 1965-66 Season