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Liverpool Echo
Liverpool Echo
Sport
Richard Garnett

What happened the last time Liverpool faced dramatic April fixture list

As far as calendar months go, April is looking like a pretty big deal for Liverpool Football Club.

Once the traditionally unwelcome international break has passed, the Reds will embark on a bumper run of at least eight huge fixtures in the space of 28 days, the outcome of which will decide whether Jurgen Klopp's men will still be standing on the brink of unprecedented glory across the board.

The fact that Liverpool could still finish the season with anything from one to four trophies shows why there is simply no average fixtures remaining in the club's 2021/22 schedule. Only high-stake bangers. This is the business end of the season, where clubs like Liverpool truly belong.

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If would take a brave, or perhaps lucky, punter to correctly predict what new trophies will be residing in the Anfield cabinet come the end of May, but if the prospect of facing Manchester City twice, Benfica twice, Manchester United and Everton - bookended by games against Watford and Newcastle United - all in the same month feels energy-sapping now, this current crop of players can take inspiration from the class of 2001 who have already shown that multiple trophy triumphs are a realistic achievement.

It was 21 years ago that Gerard Houllier's Reds started their own run of eight April fixtures that included a two-legged UEFA Cup semi-final against Barcelona, an FA Cup semi-final against Wycombe Wanderers and crucial league games in the pursuit of Champions League qualification, having missed out on the last day the previous season.

Just like Jurgen Klopp's current vintage, the League Cup had already been won and a multi-trophy assault was in full flow.

Liverpool kicked their April schedule off with an edgy 0-0 draw in the Nou Camp, putting in the type of dogged defensive resilience that formed the backbone of Houllier's Anfield success.

Next up was a trip to Villa Park to face Wycombe in the FA Cup semi-final. Despite facing lower-league opposition who were finding themselves in unchartered territory, the match was full of traditional cup fever. Not only was the fixture played at a neutral Premier League ground in Birmingham - as it should be until the FA decided to ruin it - the Chairboys were managed by Laurie Sanchez, who famously scored Wimbledon's goal against Liverpool in the 1988 final, upsetting the odds and denying Liverpool another league and cup double triumph.

Wycombe put up a remarkable fight at a packed Villa Park but were eventually breached by an Emile Heskey header 12 minutes from time, before Robbie Fowler scored a brilliant free kick less than five minutes later.

Wanderers weren't done, however, and pulled one back when Keith Ryan lobbed Sander Westerveld with three minutes to play, but the Reds hung on to set up a Wembley final against Arsenal.

Drained by their cup shift, Liverpool played Ipswich Town away two days later and could only manage a 1-1 draw. Worse was to come on Good Friday, however, when high-flying Leeds United came to Anfield and turned over the Reds 2-1 with first-half goals from Rio Ferdinand and one-time target Lee Bowyer. Steven Gerrard pulled one back but was then sent off, handing Houllier and additional headache.

If Liverpool's league form looked like it was falling apart, then the club was about to reach a crucial turning point that would ignite the winning mentality and set the club's co-ordinates firmly on a journey to uncharted success. Who else could it be against but old neighbours Everton?

In an Easter Monday derby match that probably deserves a long-read article of its own, Liverpool were pegged back twice by the Blues after goals from Heskey and Marcus Babbel were cancelled out either side of half-time by Duncan Ferguson and a David Unsworth penalty, but not before Fowler hit the inside of the post with a spot-kick of his own and Igor Biscan was sent off for receiving two yellow cards.

In a pulsating encounter it looked like Houllier would have to settle for a point, but little did he or anyone else know that one of most memorable moments in the history of the Merseyside derby was about to unfold in front of his very eyes.

As the Reds launched one last counter-attack deep in injury-time, forgotten Liverpool player Gregory Vignal was hacked down 40 yards from goal. Having delivered a similar ball just minutes earlier, Gary McAllister was expected to float another into the Everton six-yard box in the hope of finding head of Sami Hyypia. But instead, the 36-year-old surprised everyone by shooting straight for the bottom left corner to score surely the greatest goal of his career and create absolute chaos inside Goodison Park as a consequence.

Liverpool had taken all three points and their path to glory had be set by the veteran Scot who came to Anfield on a free transfer.

The Reds could be forgiven for wanting to take things easy after such a bruising encounter but three days later Barcelona and Rivaldo were coming to town for the UEFA Cup second leg.

The Catalan giants' Brazlian star Rivaldo sent an early warning signal by firing an blistering 30-yard effort just over the bar in the opening exchanges, but it was the Reds who took a first-half lead when Patrick Kluivert inexplicably handled the ball in his own box to afford Liverpool a penalty, which - as Anfield held its breath - was dispatched by the now legendary McAllister.

A combination of robust defending, shear determination and a little bit of luck saw Liverpool hold out in the second half and book no only their second cup final of the month, but first appearance in a European final since 1985.

The tide had turned for the Reds and by now a winning mentality was well and truly instilled. Glen Hoddle's Tottenham Hotspur would visit Anfield on April 22 and looked to have salvaged a point after cancelling out Heskey's opener but it was that man McAllister again, who converted another spot-kick 17 minutes from time, before Fowler made certain of the points late on.

The final fixture of a breathless April took Houllier's side to McAllister's former club Coventry City and the player of the month showed the relegation-threatened Sky Blues no mercy. Leaving it late again, Hyypia would head home a corner from the Scot in the 83rd minute before McAllister scored yet another brilliant free kick from 30 yards three minutes later. He did not celebrate the goal.

That victory at the now demolished Highfield Road brought April to a close with a record that read played 8, won 5, draw 2 and lost 1 for Liverpool, but also saw them advance to two cup finals.

The rest is history of course. The Reds would go on to win both the FA Cup and UEFA Cup before clinching Champions League qualification via a 4-0 victory at Charlton Athletic on the final day of the season, completing one of the most remarkable seasons in the club's history.

Klopp's April schedule looks like a daunting one, but history should tell him that anything is possible and with the quality of the current squad at his disposal he has the chance to not only eclipse the class of 2001 but everything that has ever been achieved either side of it.

Strap yourself in, believers.

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