The 1978–79 season was Liverpool Football Club's 87th season in existence and their 17th consecutive season in the First Division. Liverpool won its 11th league title with a record-breaking season. They amassed a record points total of 68, with Kenny Dalglish and Graeme Souness as commanding influences in the team that had the highest goal scoring ratio under Bob Paisley's management. Defensively, Liverpool conceded only 16 goals (just four of them at Anfield) and goalkeeper Ray Clemence kept a total of 28 clean sheets in 42 League matches. Disappointing for Liverpool was the early exit of the European Cup, losing to domestic rivals Nottingham Forest in the inaugural round; Forest went on to win the European Cup along with the League Cup, and were proving to be Liverpool's most fierce competitors as the decade drew to a close. This ended Liverpool's chances of taking three European Cups in a row, an achievement only Real Madrid, Ajax and Bayern Munich have ever succeeded in doing.

Squad

Goalkeepers Ray Clemence Steve Ogrizovic

Defenders Emlyn Hughes Joey Jones Brian Kettle Colin Irwin Phil Neal Alan Hansen Phil Thompson Alan Kennedy

Midfielders Ian Callaghan Jimmy Case Steve Heighway Sammy Lee Ray Kennedy Terry McDermott Kevin Sheedy Graeme Souness

Attackers David Fairclough Kenny Dalglish Howard Gayle David Johnson Squad statistics

Appearances and goals

League table

Results

First Division

DateOpponentsVenueResultScorersAttendanceReport 1Report 2 19 August 1978 Queens Park Rangers H 2–1 Dalglish Heighway 50,793 Report Report 22 August 1978 Ipswich Town A 3–0 Souness Dalglish 28,114 Report Report 26 August 1978 Manchester City A 4–1 Souness R Kennedy Dalglish 46,710 Report Report 2 September 1978 Tottenham Hotspur H 7–0 Dalglish R Kennedy Johnson Neal McDermott 50,705 Report Report 9 September 1978 Birmingham City A 3–0 Souness A Kennedy 31,740 Report Report 16 September 1978 Coventry City H 1–0 Souness 51,130 Report Report 23 September 1978 West Bromwich Albion A 1–1 Dalglish 33,834 Report Report 30 September 1978 Bolton Wanderers H 3–0 Case 47,099 Report Report 7 October 1978 Norwich City A 4–1 Heighway Johnson Case 25,632 Report Report 14 October 1978 Derby County H 5–0 Johnson R Kennedy Dalglish 47,475 Report Report 21 October 1978 Chelsea H 2–0 Johnson Dalglish 45,775 Report Report 28 October 1978 Everton A 0–1 53,131 Report Report 4 November 1978 Leeds United H 1–1 McDermott 51,657 Report Report 11 November 1978 Queens Park Rangers A 3–1 Heighway R Kennedy Johnson 26,626 Report Report 18 November 1978 Manchester City H 1–0 Neal 47,765 Report Report 22 November 1978 Tottenham Hotspur A 0–0 50,393 Report Report 25 November 1978 Middlesbrough H 2–0 McDermott Souness 39,812 Report Report 2 December 1978 Arsenal A 0–1 51,902 Report Report 9 December 1978 Nottingham Forest H 2–0 McDermott 51,469 Report Report 16 December 1978 Bristol City A 0–1 28,722 Report Report 26 December 1978 Manchester United A 3–0 R Kennedy Case Fairclough 54,940 Report Report 3 February 1979 West Bromwich Albion H 2–1 Dalglish Fairclough 52,211 Report Report 13 February 1979 Birmingham City H 1–0 Souness 35,207 Report Report 21 February 1979 Norwich City H 6–0 Dalglish Johnson A Kennedy R Kennedy 35,754 Report Report 24 February 1979 Derby County A 2–0 Dalglish R Kennedy 27,859 Report Report 3 March 1979 Chelsea A 0–0 40,594 Report Report 6 March 1979 Coventry City A 0–0 26,629 Report Report 13 March 1979 Everton H 1–1 Dalglish 52,352 Report Report 20 March 1979 Wolverhampton Wanderers H 2–0 McDermott Johnson 39,695 Report Report 24 March 1979 Ipswich Town H 2–0 Dalglish Johnson 43,243 Report Report 7 April 1979 Arsenal H 3–0 Case Dalglish McDermott 47,297 Report Report 10 April 1979 Wolverhampton Wanderers A 1–0 Hansen 30,857 Report Report 14 April 1979 Manchester United H 2–0 Dalglish Neal 46,608 Report Report 16 April 1979 Aston Villa A 1–3 Johnson 44,029 Report Report 21 April 1979 Bristol City H 1–0 Dalglish 43,191 Report Report 24 April 1979 Southampton A 1–1 Johnson 23,181 Report Report 28 April 1979 Nottingham Forest A 0–0 41,898 Report Report 1 May 1979 Bolton Wanderers A 4–1 Johnson R Kennedy Dalglish 35,200 Report Report 5 May 1979 Southampton H 2–0 Neal 46,687 Report Report 8 May 1979 Aston Villa H 3–0 A Kennedy Dalglish McDermott 50,576 Report Report 11 May 1979 Middlesbrough A 1–0 Johnson 32,244 Report Report 17 May 1979 Leeds United A 3–0 Johnson Case 41,324 Report Report

FA Cup

DateOpponentsVenueResultScorersAttendanceReport 1Report 2 10 January 1979 Southend United A 0–0 31,033 Report Report 17 January 1979 Southend United H 3–0 Case Dalglish R Kennedy 37.797 Report Report 30 January 1979 Blackburn Rovers H 1–0 Dalglish 43,432 Report Report 28 February 1979 Burnley H 3–0 Johnson Souness 47,161 Report Report 10 March 1979 Ipswich Town A 1–0 Dalglish 31,322 Report Report 31 March 1979 Manchester United N 2–2 Dalglish Hansen 52,584 Report Report 4 April 1979 Manchester United N 0–1 53,069 Report Report

League Cup

DateOpponentsVenueResultScorersAttendanceReport 1Report 2 28 August 1978 Sheffield United A 0–1 35753 Report Report

European Cup

DateOpponentsVenueResultScorersAttendanceReport 1Report 2 13 September 1978 Nottingham Forest A 0–2 38,316 Report Report 27 September 1978 Nottingham Forest H 0–0 51,679 Report Report

European Super Cup

DateOpponentsVenueResultScorersAttendanceReport 1Report 2 4 December 1978 R.S.C. Anderlecht A 1–3 Case 35,000 Report Report 19 December 1978 R.S.C. Anderlecht H 2–1 Hughes Fairclough 23,598 Report Report

References LFC History.net – Games for the 1978–79 season Liverweb - Games for the 1978-79 season