Jari Litmanen – A tribute
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The Finn joined the Reds from Barcelona, having previously spent seven illustrious years with Dutch giants Ajax.
He arrived at Anfield late in his career and didn’t really get many opportunities to regularly show his class, something which still irks Reds fans to this day
In the end, he ended up playing just 43 games for the club, scoring nine goals.
In honour of Jari’s birthday, and as a nice trip down memory lane, we’ve taken a look back at all nine of his goals for Liverpool:
1. Sunderland (A) - Premier League - 10th Feb 2001
Litmanen’s first goal for Liverpool was a penalty against Sunderland to earn the Reds a 1-1 draw.
In truth, the penalty should never have been awarded as Stanislav Varga’s foul on Gary McAllister took place outside the box.
Never mind eh?
2. Man City (H) - FA Cup 5th Round - 18th Feb 2001
Jari’s second goal for the club was also a penalty. He scored the opener in a 4-2 victory as Liverpool marched towards an FA Cup win.
This was another controversial one too as City ‘keeper Nicky Weaver didn’t seem to make contact with Vladimir Smicer.
Never mind eh?
YouTube: Jari Litmanen penalty goal / Liverpool – Manchester City – FA CUP
3. Tottenham (H) - Premier League - 22nd September 2001
Jari had to wait until the next season to add to his goals tally, but this one was worth the wait.
He best Spurs ‘keeper Neil Sullivan with a lovely strike from 25 yards that went in off the post to give Liverpool a 1-0 win.
An absolute beauty.
YouTube: Jari Litmanen Goal – Liverpool 1 Tottenham Hotspur 0 – Premiership (22/9/01)
4. Dynamo Kiev - Champions League 1st Group Phase - 26th September 2001
Like London buses, we waited ages for a Jari goal then we got two in successive games.
The Finn’s strike won Liverpool the game 1-0, in what was a pretty dour game.
Steven Gerrard’s deflected strike hit the post, and Jari was in the right place at the right time to slot home the rebound.
YouTube: Liverpool 1-0 Dynamo Kyiv 2001/02 Champions League
5. Arsenal (H) - Premier League - 23rd December 2001
This was the first game that Liverpool lost when Jari scored.
The Reds were 2-0 down against Arsenal when Litmanen got on the end of a miscued shot by Michael Owen to half the deficit.
The Reds couldn’t get an equaliser despite playing against ten men for more than half the game.
YouTube: Liverpool – Arsenal 1-2 23-12-2001 Premier League
6. Aston Villa - Premier League - 26th December 2001
You’ll probably remember this one!
Liverpool were given a late Christmas present by Villa keeper Peter Schmeichel.
The Dane tried to launch a throw downfield, but the ball struck referee Andy D’Urso on the back. It fell to Jari’s feet, and the Finn simply slotted home from 35 yards out.
Liverpool went on to win 2-1 thanks to a winning goal from Smicer.
YouTube: Aston Villa – Liverpool FC 1-2 26-12-2001 Premier League
7. Fulham - Premier League - 2nd March 2002
Jari went a few months without scoring, but he ended that streak by scoring a late goal against Fulham to make sure all three points went back to Merseyside.
The Reds took the lead thanks to Nicolas Anelka’s first half strike.
Litmanen replaced the Frenchman with ten minutes to go, and managed to double the lead late on by reaching a loose ball before Edwin van der Sar and slotting home from a tight angle.
YouTube: Fulham FC – Liverpool FC 0-2 02-03-2002 Premier League
8. Roma - Champions League 2nd Group Phase - 19th March 2002
Another Jari Litmanen penalty. This time, it came in the seventh minute after Marcos Assuncao fouled Danny Murphy.
The Reds won 2-0 to advance to the knockout stages on a night best remembered for the return to the bench by Gerard Houllier, who’d been taken ill earlier in the year with a heart problem
YouTube: liverpool vs roma( Litmanen)
9. Bayer Leverkusen - Champions League Quarter-final 2nd leg - 9th April 2002
Why did you take Didi Hamman off Gerard?!
After Abel Xavier had drawn the Reds level on the night, Hamman’s exit led to two quick goals for the hosts, meaning they were behind 3-2 on aggregate.
Jari put Liverpool ahead on away goals with a lovely finish but a late Lucio goal meant the Reds were knocked out.