5) 6th December 2008 – Blackburn 1-3 Liverpool
The 2008-09 campaign saw Liverpool come perilously close to their first Premier League crown, in what was their first real title challenge for seven years.
Having won eight and drawn two of their first 10 league fixtures, defeat at Tottenham Hotspur on November 1st ended their unbeaten start.
Rafael Benitez’s men saw off West Bromwich Albion and Bolton Wanderers before dropping points at home to both Fulham and West Ham United, and if they slipped up at Blackburn, concerns would certainly have been raised in regards to Liverpool’s ability to keep up the pace.
Not only did the Reds eventually overcome Rovers in what (for 69 minutes) was a frustrating afternoon, but they instilled belief into the travelling fans that this could be their year, and sparked a “we shall not be moved” chant for the first time in the season.
Xabi Alonso – one of the outstanding players in the Reds’ eventual failed title bid – gave Liverpool the lead with a cool side-footed finish that seemed to take an age to hit the back of the net, before Yossi Benayoun doubled the advantage 10 minutes later with a drilled effort from a tight angle.
Roque Santa Cruz headed Rovers back into the game with less than five minutes remaining, but captain Steven Gerrard put the outcome beyond doubt in stoppage time.
It was a memorable campaign for Liverpool, but unfortunately it ended without silverware.
4) 10th April 2012 – Blackburn 2-3 Liverpool
Not a fixture that will be remembered for vast quality or moments of certified brilliance; instead an encounter that is impossible to erase from the mind due its sheer ludicrousness.
Liverpool had completely collapsed in the Premier League in the second half of the 2011-12 season.
Since the beginning of February, the Reds had won one (a convincing Merseyside derby triumph over Everton), drawn two, and lost six league fixtures.
All hopes of a top four finish were long gone, and for Kenny Dalglish’s men – who had already lifted the Carling Cup – it was all about gathering momentum for their FA Cup semi-final against Everton four days later.
They began well, and were 2-0 up within 16 minutes thanks to a quick fire double from Maxi Rodriguez – a man who was fast becoming a cult hero at Anfield.
All the madness began to unfold in the 25th minute. Doni – starting in place of the suspended Pepe Reina – brought down Junior Hoilett after Jon Flanagan’s carelessly short backpass, and was shown a red card, meaning third choice ‘keeper Brad Jones had to step in.
Jones’ first act could not have been better; he saved Yakubu’s weak penalty to preserve the Reds’ two-goal cushion.
After Yakubu’s header halved the deficit in the 36th minute, Jones himself gave away a ridiculous penalty in the second half after seeing his clearance blocked by the Nigerian striker and then pushing him over.
The Yak made no mistake from his second spot-kick, and Rovers were level.
Andy Carroll came up with the winner in stoppage time; his bullet header from Daniel Agger’s flick beat Paul Robinson and earned the Reds a rare win.
3) 29th October 2003 – Blackburn 3-4 Liverpool
Having already won at Ewood Park in the league the previous month, Liverpool went to Blackburn to begin their defence of the League Cup.
It was Lucas Neill’s first match back for Blackburn after serving a three-match ban for a challenge that broke Jamie Carragher’s leg in the league fixture.
The Aussie saw red again this time around when he brought down Florent Sinama-Pongolle to concede a penalty from which Danny Murphy cancelled out Dwight Yorke’s opener.
Emile Heskey gave Liverpool the lead four minutes after the break with a header from El Hadji Diouf’s cross, and doubled the Reds’ advantage from another Diouf delivery just after the hour mark.
Heskey missed his chance to bag a hat-trick as he saw his penalty kept out by Brad Friedel, but Harry Kewell made it 4-1 in the 79th minute.
Barry Ferguson and Yorke each scored in the last 10 minutes to bring it back to 4-3, but Gérard Houllier’s Reds held on for a narrow win before being eliminated by Bolton Wanderers in the fourth round.
2) 30th November 1994 – Blackburn 1-3 Liverpool
En route to their 1995 League Cup win, Liverpool earned a huge victory in the back yard of Blackburn, who were then league leaders and champions elect.
It was Ian Rush’s 600th appearance for the Reds, and he went home with the match ball after a vintage hat-trick.
The first came against the run of play in the 19th minute; a stunning strike from the edge of the box after Robbie Fowler teed him up.
He netted again 12 minutes into the second period, firing past Tim Flowers, and poked home his third in the 73rd minute to confirm Liverpool’s passage into round five.
Chris Sutton pulled one back in the dying embers, but it was mere consolation.
Liverpool ended up lifting the trophy – beating Bolton Wanderers 2-1 in the final – and Blackburn went on to win the league under Kenny Dalglish despite losing at Anfield on the final day.
1) 24th Feburary 1996 – Blackburn 2-3 Liverpool
Blackburn were reigning champions, and had only been beaten once in the Premier League when Liverpool turned up at Ewood Park.
It seemed it was destined to be Roy Evans’ day when Stan Collymore’s tame shot appeared to be rolling comfortably into Tim Flowers’ grasp, but it took a horrendous bobble and bounced into the net.
On 21 minutes, it was 2-0. This time Flowers could have no complaints, as Collymore’s free-kick was accurately struck into the bottom corner.
Jason Wilcox gave Rovers a foothold with his 25th minute header, but Liverpool managed to keep their noses in front for the remainder of the first period.
And with 20 minutes left on the clock, Michael Thomas shot low to Flowers’ right, he got a huge hand to it but it looped into the net and typified the Rovers stopper’s day.
Tim Sherwood scored with seven minutes remaining to bring it back to 3-2 but the Reds held their nerve and rode their luck to take all three points back to Merseyside.
Liverpool’s dramatic triumph meant they still had an outside chance of winning the title; but the trophy, inevitably, ended up in Manchester United’s hands.
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