Matter of stats | Our League Cup history against Liverpool
Wed 08 January 2025, 11:15|
Tottenham Hotspur
We have played Liverpool on eight previous occasions in the League Cup in its various guises down the years - including the 1982 Final at Wembley - and currently hold the upper hand with four wins to Liverpool’s three, with one drawn game.
Here, we take a look back at those previous encounters...
04.12.72 | Liverpool 1-1 Spurs
Fifth Round
Anfield
Liverpool’s largest-ever League Cup crowd at the time, numbering 48,677, saw a magnificent game as the hosts, undefeated at home since January, 1972 salvaged a draw. Kevin Keegan was the star man for Liverpool with Mike England dominant in the Spurs defence. We survived the first half hour of continuous Liverpool pressure and took the lead on 54 minutes. A corner by Jimmy Pearce broke free to Martin Peters who scored from close range. Pat Jennings made point blank saves from Keegan and John Toshack before the home side levelled on 78 minutes. A short corner by Steve Heighway found Emlyn Hughes who hit a left foot shot from just inside the area into the left hand corner of Jennings’ net to set up a replay in north London.
Liverpool: Clemence, Lawler, Lindsay, Storton, Lloyd, Hughes, Keegan, Cormack, Heighway, Toshack, Callaghan.
Spurs: Jennings, Evans, Knowles, Pratt, England, Naylor, Gilzean, Perryman, Chivers, Peters, Pearce.
06.12.72 | Spurs 3-1 Liverpool
Fifth Round replay
White Hart Lane
Three goals in the first quarter of an hour on a rain-soaked White Hart Lane pitch decided this replay as we came storming out of the blocks. Bill Nicholson’s side took just five minutes to take the lead when a Martin Chivers free kick slithered off a Liverpool defender to deceive Ray Clemence in the Reds’ goal. Six minutes later a corner on the right was pushed back to the edge of the area by Martin Peters for John Pratt to rifle a shot into the roof of the net. Chivers bustled through to bring down the ball and lash in a left footed drive for our third. Ian Callaghan replied for Liverpool with four minutes remaining. Having defeated Wolverhampton Wanderers 4-3 on aggregate in the semi finals, we went on to become the first club to win the trophy twice thanks to a Ralph Coates goal against Norwich at Wembley.
Spurs: Jennings, Evans, Knowles, Pratt, England, Naylor, Gilzean (Neighbour), Perryman, Chivers, Peters, Pearce.
Liverpool: Clemence, Lawler, Lindsay, Storton, Lloyd, Hughes, Keegan, Cormack, Heighway, Toshack (Thompson), Callaghan.
13.03.82 | Spurs 1-3 Liverpool (AET)
Final
Wembley Stadium
Liverpool snatched victory from the jaws of defeat after we had led for much of the 1982 Final thanks to Steve Archibald’s 10th minute goal. Steve Perryman won the ball in his own half, hooked the ball forward to Glenn Hoddle who sent the ball in between centre backs Phil Thompson and Mark Lawrenson for Archibald to slide a right foot shot from 15-yards under Bruce Grobbelaar. We were just three minutes away from adding another trophy to our haul when Ronnie Whelan levelled, firing in a first time shot from Craig Johnston’s right wing cross. Six minutes into the second period of extra time Whelan notched his second, set up by Kenny Dalglish on the left, and a minute from time Johnston supplied Ian Rush to make it 3-1. The final was the first ever League Cup tie to be sponsored, The Milk Marketing Board having paid for rights to call it the Milk Cup.
Liverpool: Grobbelaar, Neal, Lawrenson, Kennedy, Thompson, Whelan, Dalglish, Lee, Rush, McDermott (Johnston), Souness.
Spurs: Clemence, Hughton, Miller, Price, Hazard (Villa), Perryman, Ardiles, Archibald, Galvin, Hoddle, Crooks.
31.10.84 | Spurs 1-0 Liverpool
Third Round
White Hart Lane
We brought Liverpool’s four-year dominance of the competition to a halt, being the first team to defeat them since Nottingham Forest had knocked them out at the semi final stage in 1980. Clive Allen scored the only goal after six minutes, capitalising on an error by Bruce Grobbelaar who was unable to hold a left wing shot from Tony Galvin. We went out to a Chris Turner-inspired Sunderland side here in a replayed fourth round tie.
Spurs: Clemence, Stevens, Hughton, Roberts, Miller, Perryman, Chiedozie, Falco, Allen, Hoddle (Hazard), Galvin.
Liverpool: Grobbelaar, Neal, Kennedy, Lawrenson, Whelan, Hansen, Robinson, Lee (Wark), Rush, Johnston, Gillespie.
10.11.98 | Liverpool 1-3 Spurs
Fourth Round
Anfield
We took full advantage of a Liverpool side in poor form when we travelled to Anfield for a fourth-round tie in 1998/99. We went 2-0 up within 20 minutes, Steffen Iversen heading us in front from Sol Campbell’s deep cross after just 107 seconds and then ex-Red John Scales scored from close range following a Darren Anderton free kick. Rory Allen, Anderton and Iversen combined well to put Allan Nielsen through for our third in the 62nd minute. Michael Owen scored 10 minutes from time. Future Spurs Danny Murphy and Oyvind Leonhardsen featured for Liverpool. We went on to lift the trophy in the final against Leicester City at Wembley, Nielsen netting the last-gasp winner.
Liverpool: Friedel, Heggem, Bjornebye, McAteer, Carragher, Staunton, Thompson, Ince, Fowler, Owen (Murphy), Leonhardsen (Riedle).
Spurs: Baardsen, Carr, Campbell, Calderwood, Scales, Vega, Ginola (Allen (Fox)), Nielsen, Sinton (Wilson), Iversen, Anderton.
01.12.2004 | Spurs 1 Liverpool 1 (AET, Liverpool won 4-3 on penalties)
Fifth Round
White Hart Lane
Both teams wore black armbands when we met in the fourth round in December 2004, in memory of our Double-winning goalkeeper Bill Brown who had passed away in Canada the previous day.
Neither side could find a way to goal during the 90 minutes and, indeed, it wasn’t until the second period of extra time that the deadlock was broken. Jermain Defoe finished past Reds skipper Jerzy Dudek in the 108th minute. An inexplicable hand ball in his own penalty area by Frederic Kanoute gifted Florent Sinama-Pongolle the chance to level from the spot with four minutes remaining.
The subsequent penalty shootout saw Defoe, Stephane Henchoz, Michael Carrick and Richie Partridge successfully convert each of the first four penalties. Dudek saved from Kanoute and Paul Robinson from Darren Potter before Michael Brown fired his spot kick over the crossbar. John Welsh and Reto Ziegler both scored prior to Sinama-Pongolle firing home the decisive kick.
Spurs: Robinson, Pamarot, Atouba, Brown, Gardner, King, Ricketts (Defoe 66), Carrick, Ziegler, Keane (Mendes 86), Kanoute.
Liverpool: Dudek, Raven, Warnock, Diao (Partridge 111), Henchoz, Whitbread, Nunez (Smyth 70), Biscan, Mellor (Welsh 52), Sinama-Pongolle, Potter.
12.11.08 | Spurs 4-2 Liverpool
Fourth Round
White Hart Lane
Harry Redknapp’s arrival as manager in October 2008 reinvigorated our struggling team and, by the time Liverpool arrived in N17 for a fourth round League Cup tie, we’d won four out of five including a 2-1 league defeat of the Reds. We continued that run with a compelling victory in this tie, with three goals in seven first-half minutes laying the foundation for the win. Roman Pavlyuchenko fired us ahead on 38 minutes and we were 3-0 by half-time, Fraizer Campbell adding a brace. Shortly after the restart Damien Plessis headed a goal back for the visitors, Pavlyuchenko added his second moments later and Sami Hyypia made it 4-2 just after the hour mark. Goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes had to go off injured, replaced by Cesar Sanchez for his one and only Spurs appearance, but we held out to reach the fifth round. We went all the way to the final, only to lose to Manchester United on penalties after a goalless draw.
Spurs: Gomes (Cesar 74), Hutton, Dawson, Corluka, Bale, Lennon, Zokora, Huddlestone, O'Hara, Pavlyuchenko (Boateng 90), Campbell (Bent 90).
Liverpool: Cavalieri, Dossena, Hyypia, Agger, Degen (Darby 84), Babel, Leiva Lucas, Ngog, Plessis (Alonso 66), Torres (Insua 56), El Zhar.
25.10.16 | Liverpool 2-1 Spurs
Fourth Round
Anfield
Our most recent League Cup meeting came just over eight years ago as we exited the competition following a narrow defeat. Liverpool made 11 changes and Mauricio Pochettino fielded 10 different players from the weekend league games but it was the home side who took the initiative, Daniel Sturridge netting a goal in each half. We gave ourselves hope when Erik Lamela was brought down in the box and Vincent Janssen slammed home the penalty past Simon Mignolet. And, when Lamela picked out the unmarked substitute Shayon Harrison with just three minutes remaining, the young striker had a chance to make a name for himself but his heavy first touch allowed Mignolet to save.
Liverpool: Mignolet, Klavan, Moreno, Alexander-Arnold (Clyne 68), Wijnaldum, Grujic (Can 89), Leiva, Stewart, Ejaria, Sturridge, Origi (Ings 68).
Spurs: Vorm, Trippier, Carter-Vickers, Wimmer, Davies, Onomah, Dier (Wanyama 67), Carroll (Lamela 61), Winks, Nkoudou (Harrison 83), Janssen.
