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It is always important for any team to start the season on a high, especially if you have high hopes for the season ahead. Liverpool are aiming for the stars this season, which means that a good start to the league campaign is essential. With all the signings made by Jurgen Klopp over the summer, the Reds are expected to challenge on all fronts. The fans will be hoping for some long overdue success after years of waiting and build-up. For that, they will need to settle in as quickly as possible.
Fortunately, Liverpool has been given a somewhat favourable opening month in the Premier League as they will face the likes of West Ham, Brighton and Crystal Palace. This is the perfect opportunity to get off to a flying start and set the pace for other teams to follow. After such an impressive pre-season, the Reds will want to start well. The start is usually an indicator for the season ahead. It has been so for many clubs in the past.
Liverpool has enjoyed their share of impressive opening day performances en route to successful campaigns. Here, we are looking at five of their best. Every single one of these games would set the marker for a positive season for Liverpool as they finished in the top four in all five of these seasons. Here's to hoping that Sunday's Premier League opener goes in a similar way to these fine performances. These are Liverpool's five most memorable victories on the opening day of the Premier League.
#5 Aston Villa 1-2 Liverpool (2007-08)
Building on from reaching the Champions League final in the previous campaign, Rafa Benitez splashed the cash and spent £45 million in strengthening his forward options, with the likes of Fernando Torres, Ryan Babel and Yossi Benayoun. Only Torres would make his debut in this opening day battle at Villa Park. It had been five years since Liverpool last won their opener, funnily the last time they had done so was at Villa Park. The Reds, in their new white away kit, drew first blood thanks to an own goal from Danish defender Martin Laursen.
Liverpool were marching towards victory until a Gareth Barry penalty looked to save Villa with less than ten minutes to go. However, the best was yet to come. Steven Gerrard stepped up to belt in a terrific free-kick with around two minutes to go. It was a brilliant goal, one worthy of giving the Reds a big win at the start of the season. It was a huge boost for the team, who would go on to enjoy an unbeaten start to the season before dropping off from their main rivals. Fourth place with 76 points in the bag is still quite a respectable feat, despite being a step or two below their eventual target.
#4 Liverpool 2-1 West Ham United (2001-02)
This was well and truly the Michael Owen show. Liverpool were looking to improve on a nearly perfect 2000-01 season as they won three trophies and qualified for the Champions League. It would be incredibly difficult to even match that amazing campaign but the Reds did try to pull it off. They started the new season at home to a decent West Ham United side. It was a bit tricky but the golden Liverpool youngster would drag them out of the dirt yet again. Owen was superb as he demonstrated why he ended up winning the Ballon d'Or in 2001.
His well-controlled goal in the first half was cancelled out by a Paolo Di Canio penalty. After that goal, the game became slightly drab and dull. It took another brilliant piece of inspiration from the former England man to lift Liverpool up and take them over the line. A spectacular individual effort from Owen gave the Reds three valuable points to start the season in a good way. While their cup form was pretty disappointing, Liverpool did finish second in the Premier League in 2001-02 with 80 points, seven points behind champions Arsenal.
#3 Liverpool 1-0 Stoke City (2013-14)
The 2013-14 brought some new-found optimism to Anfield. After years of disappointment, Brendan Rodgers formed a formidable frontline which looked to get into the Champions League places. Liverpool had to win their opening game, the last time they did so was also the last time they finished in the top four. They would be without Luis Suarez, who was serving a ban for biting. The Reds still put in one hell of a performance, especially with a debutant in goal. Simon Mignolet had one of the best debuts in recent Liverpool history.
He would make a few fine saves but his best contribution came at the end. A dominant Liverpool could only manage one goal against a typically resilient Stoke City team, but it was a beauty. Daniel Sturridge's thunderbolt was the first goal of the 2013-14 Premier League season. However, Stoke got a penalty late on. Jon Walters stepped up to take it but was denied by Mignolet. The Belgian saved the rebound as well as he was hailed as the Kop's new hero. A great start to the season for him and Liverpool. The Reds would eventually come extremely close to lifting the league title in a season that nobody expected.
#2 Crystal Palace 1-6 Liverpool
After a very disappointing 1993-94 season, Roy Evans looked to restore some pride at Anfield as he began his first full campaign at the helm. Hopes were high that the man who had seen it all could propel Liverpool back to where they belong once again. The start was an absolute banger as the Reds visited Crystal Palace. A Jan Molby penalty gave them the lead before Steve McManaman made it 2-0 with an early goal of the season contender, as he raced from his own half to unleash an unstoppable drive into the top corner.
Robbie Fowler made it 3-0 on the stroke of half-time before Chris Armstrong pulled one back for the Eagles. However, a double from Ian Rush and another effort from McManaman set the seal on a brilliant performance. The season could not have started any better as the Reds did improve massively, finishing fourth in the league and winning the League Cup. Liverpool went on a run of consistent top four finishes but had nothing to show for it. Jurgen Klopp has taken them out of a similar situation, as we will see, and will hopefully bring trophies back to Anfield.
#1 Arsenal 3-4 Liverpool (2016-17)
Similar to the situation in 1994, Jurgen Klopp took over the managerial duties at Liverpool in the middle of a difficult season and helped to steady the ship. He did a fine job at it and moulded the team to his liking. The first game of is first full season in charge of the Reds was at the Emirates, home of fellow top-four rivals Arsenal. This game got even more important because it would indicate who had the upper hand in the race for a Champions League spot. After some dodgy defending allowed Theo Walcott to give Arsenal the lead, the Reds went rampant.
Philippe Coutinho scored a beautiful free-kick on the stroke of half-time before a blistering 15-minute spell saw Liverpool go 4-1 up. Sadio Mane, who was playing his first game for the club, scored the pick of the bunch as Lallana and Coutinho scored the other two. After that masterclass in attack, the Reds were pinned back a bit. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain immediately made the score 4-2 before a Calum Chambers header made the last 15 minutes extremely nervy. But somehow, in some way, the Reds managed to hold on and claim a fantastic victory away from home at their rivals' place. This match proved to be even more vital, as Liverpool finished fourth in the Premier League with 76 points, one more than Arsenal in fifth.
