Chemistry is the glue that holds all teams together. Sure, talent and tactics play a vital role but it cannot lead anywhere unless the team plays as a single unit. The ability of players to read and understand each other, especially when partnered up together to form a single fluid entity – be it in attack or defense or even midfield – is what brings consistency to the play and also wins silverware. One of the many reasons why Liverpool FC were so successful this season was the fluidity of the attack and the linkup play between the two wings, making it difficult for opponents to backmark a single player.
Here, we take a look at some of the most potent partnerships formed in Liverpool FC’s history covering all three roles – defense, midfield, and attack.
Best defensive partnerships
#1: Alan Hansen and Mark Lawrenson
Alan Hansen was signed on from Partrick Thistle in 1977 when the backline of Liverpool FC was cemented with the partnership of Emlyn Hughes and Phil Thompson. Initially finding himself as the fourth choice in the pecking order, a brilliant display in the final of the European Cup in 1978 meant Hansen replaced Hughes and was a consistent figure during Liverpool FC’s European triumph.
With Joe Fagan replacing Bob Paisley as the Reds manager in 1983, Mark Lawrenson who had arrived at Anfield in the summer of 1981 was paired up with Alan Hansen replacing veteran Phil Thompson in the process. The pair would go on to win a treble in the 1984 season, crowning it off with a solid display of anchoring at the back in the final of the European Cup in Roma, defeating the Italian sides in their own home ground.
The duo became one of the finest defensive pairings in Europe and the world at the time, with Lawrenson’s precision-like tackles complimenting Alan Hansen’s ability to visualize the opponent’s next move. Lawrenson’s versatility on the pitch was an added bonus, with the former Brighton player supplementing attacks with incisive runs forward.
They would go on to win five league titles along with three League Cups and an FA Cup victory in 1983, not to mention the memorable European Cup victory at Stadio Olimpico in 1984. Liverpool FC’s last league title before 2020 also came under their partnership in 1989-1990, underlining the influence a solid backline can have on the consistency of a team.
#2: Phil Thompson and Emlyn Hughes
Before Phil Thompson came into the picture, it was Tommy Smith alongside Emlyn Hughes that stood as a defensive juggernaut on the pitch for Liverpool FC. But the two had a major fallout regarding the captaincy of the team and did not see eye-to-eye in most cases. Phil Thompson, the local lad was given the chance to pair up with Emlyn Hughes by 1973, pushing Tommy Smith into the left-back role.
What followed was a defensive pairing that dictated the style of play Liverpool FC approached on the pitch, with both players extremely skilled in retaining position and controlling the momentum of the game. Under them, almost all of Liverpool FC’s attacks originated from the build-up play from the back, with the experience of both Thompson and Hughes playing at different positions helping their cause.
They both cemented their place at the defense for much of the seventies, at a time when Liverpool established themselves as a powerhouse in Europe. The club went on to win two League titles, a UEFA Cup and an FA Cup during their spell as stoppers until Alan Hansen dislodged the aging Emlyn Hughes at the back in 1978.
Best midfield partnership
#1: Steven Gerrard and Xabi Alonso
The two midfield maestros of their generation, one from Merseyside and the other from Basque combined together for 5 years to be one of the best midfield pairs to have graced the Premier League. Alonso arrived from Real Sociedad in 2004, highly rated by Benitez for his playstyle, but even Benitez couldn’t have predicted the gear in which Stevie G and Alonso clicked on the years to come.
With Gerrard establishing himself as the de facto box-to-box midfielder, Alonso’s precision like passing always found the Scouser’s marauding run into the front. Alonso found himself mostly as the connector between the wings, as Mascherano took up the mantle of the defensive midfielder and Gerrard as the attacking force in the trio. Coupled with Gerrard’s special ability to score thumping strikes from range, and later on, with the arrival of Fernando Torres up front, Alonso’s incisive passes became more crucial as well as common in breaking down the opponent’s defenses.
The duo would go on to win the Champions League in 2005 along with the FA Cup in 2006. They came ever so close to clinching the Premier League in 2009 before Alonso finally departed to join Real Madrid by the end of that season.
Best striking partnerships
#1: Ian Rush and Kenny Dalglish
One of the best-attacking partnerships in the world, much less Liverpool FC, Dalglish, and Ian Rush shared the pitch to build one of the best-dreaded pairs upfront at the time. By the start of the 80s, with the form at front dipping and Dalglish seemingly arriving at the twilight of his career, Ian Rush was introduced into the attacking foray. The almost telepathic link-up between the two was instantaneous – they would go on to score 30 goals between them in their first season together in 1982.
As Rush became a goal-scoring machine netting in goals after goals, Kenny Dalglish became the creator – making incisive runs and drawing out defenders only to pass the ball to his teammate who almost always found the back of the net. The 1983/84 season proved to be the pinnacle of their partnership – with Liverpool FC winning the treble of the League title, League Cup and the European Cup with Rush netting a whopping 47 goals that season along with King Kenny adding another 12.
Kenny Dalglish was appointed as the player-manager after the aftermath of the Heysel disaster in 1985 and slowly removed himself from the starting lineup letting other players occupy his role but the duo’s prolific nature in front of the goal together will never be recreated in Liverpool FC’s history.
#2: Roger Hunt and St John
Roger Hunt made his debut for the Reds in 1959 and Ian St John in 1961 at a time when Liverpool FC were languishing in the Second Division. With the two up front, it took just twelve months for the club to claw back promotion to the first division. That is how incisive and lethal the partnership was.
Many assumed that the form they both struck up would be just a one-season wonder – how difficult can it be to score against second division sides after all? But the two of them continued on their marauding form – terrorizing England’s top defenses on their way to the League title in 1964.
However, the most memorable tandem of the deadly duo came in 1965 at the FA Cup final when Roger Hunt’s brace opened the scoring for the Reds and Ian St John’s extra-time header sealed the fate of the match, earning Liverpool FC the first-ever FA Cup title in its history.
Roger Hunt would go on to become the leading goalscorer for Liverpool FC until Ian Rush broke his record but in between them, St John and Hunt scored a monumental 341 goals in 386 appearances together on the pitch, making them one of the finest attacking partnership in history.
