David Moyes has never won at Anfield in 21 attempts across as many years. Since the Scot’s first try, 49 different managers have beaten Liverpool away.
Moyes had his first crack at the Anfield whip on December 22, 2002, resulting in a goalless Merseyside derby draw. Almost exactly 21 years later, he returned with West Ham in the Carabao Cup quarter-finals and received a paddlin’.
That has become commonplace for Moyes on his Liverpool trips, despite nearly a half-century of managers winning away at Anfield since his first game there.
Let’s rank those individuals based on how embarrassed Moyes should be that they have won more games at Anfield than he has.
49) Sir Alex Ferguson (five times)
Lads, it’s Liverpool away.
48) Arsene Wenger (six times)
“It’s the hardest place in Europe. It’s the only place now you can take a corner and shake hands with supporters! You can say ‘hello my brother, how are you?’ and continue to play football. That’s a real football field, you know. Today we build sophisticated stadiums but that is a stadium with soul, with pressure really on the opponent.” Not that it made a difference to peak Arsenal.
47) Jose Mourinho (four times)
After engineering a win at Anfield on his first visit in January 2005, Mourinho returned a few more times and emerged victorious – although never in Europe. There was, of course, The Slip.
46) Carlo Ancelotti (four times)
The eyebrow has been raised in victory four times for three different clubs in eight visits. It’s some record.
45) Pep Guardiola (one time)
Only once has Guardiola won at Anfield, but it remains one of the most humbling experiences of the entire Jurgen Klopp era.
43) Mauricio Pochettino (one time)
Yet to visit Anfield as Chelsea manager, Pochettino never actually won at the famous ground during his storied time with Spurs. He conquered the Reds with Southampton instead a decade ago.
42) Thomas Tuchel (one time)
Liverpool’s fifth defeat of six in a row at home in early 2021 was one of the most forgivable of the lot, with new Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel continuing his unbeaten start in charge thanks to a Mason Mount goal. A different time.
41) Claudio Ranieri (one time)
The Roman Abramovich era officially commenced at Chelsea in much the same way as the Russian was tempted to invest in the first place: with a win over Liverpool. Ranieri ended the 2002/03 season by securing Champions League qualification through victory against the Reds at Stamford Bridge, then started his final campaign in charge with three points at Anfield after goals from Juan Sebastian Veron and Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink.
40) Frank Rijkaard (one time)
Barcelona won the battle of Anfield in March 2007, but like many an army before them, lost the war on away goals because of a golf-inspired Craig Bellamy at the Nou Camp.
39) Louis van Gaal (two times)
The Dutchman enjoyed quite the stranglehold over Liverpool, facing them six times and losing just once – in a Europa League round-of-16 game. He won four of their bouts, including single-goal victories at Anfield in March 2015 (the Steven Gerrard red card game) and January 2016 (a forgettable slog).
38) Harry Redknapp (one time)
Despite visiting Anfield well before Moyes and making that trip with numerous different clubs, Redknapp only ever actually returned from Merseyside with a win once. Spurs put Kenny Dalglish’s Reds down in May 2011.
37) Maurizio Sarri (one time)
Eden Hazard did a League Cup third-round madness in September 2018.
36) Martin O’Neill (two times)
On 10 visits to Anfield, O’Neill had a superb record of five wins, two draws and just three defeats. But some of those victories date back to his time as Leicester manager, before the Moyes misery began. He schooled a transitional Liverpool side with Aston Villa in August 2009, having outclassed them with Celtic during their UEFA Cup final run six years before.
35) Ronald Koeman (one time)
Taking four different teams to Anfield was a wise hedging of the bets from Koeman, but it was actually his first visit which produced his only victory there. Liverpool transfer legend Simao stuck it to his never-quite-former club when Benfica dumped the holders out of the Champions League in March 2006.
34) Guus Hiddink (one time)
To be fair, few clubs have ever been as powerful as interim Hiddink Chelsea, version one.
33) Gian Piero Gasperini (one time)
Atalanta completely handled Liverpool in their home during the 2020/21 Champions League group stage, restricting them to zero shots on target and inflicting upon Klopp his first two-goal home defeat in charge.
32) Cesare Prandelli (one time)
Liverpool had achieved remarkable things in Europe under Rafael Benitez, but defeat to Fiorentina in their last Champions League game of the Spaniard’s reign mattered for nought as they were already Europe League-bound.
31) Alan Curbishley (one time)
While he hasn’t coached since 2008, Curbishley still has more wins as a manager at Anfield than Moyes. April 2004 and Shaun Bartlett, in case you were wondering.
30) Slaven Bilic (one time)
As Brendan Rodgers limped towards the end of his time at Liverpool, West Ham took a full and ruthless advantage in August 2015 after one of the finest ever individual performances away at Anfield from a single player.
29) Martin Jol (one time)
Fulham’s first-ever win at Anfield in May 2012 was gift-wrapped in that most common of packages: a Martin Skrtel own goal.
28) Simone Inzaghi (one time)
The Quadruple remained very much on despite Inter’s 1-0 win at Anfield in March 2022, Liverpool having wisely won the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie by two goals.
27) Michael Laudrup (one time)
Swansea sauntered past Liverpool and into the 2013 League Cup quarter-finals with a 3-1 victory, which included the last goal they actually conceded in a competition they would go on to win.
26) Kevin Keegan (one time)
A 1990s stalwart he may have been, Keegan nevertheless sneaked a 21st century Anfield win into his collection when Nicolas Anelka scored twice against both manager and player’s former club in May 2003.
25) Eric Gerets (one time)
“That could be the worst performance of my time here,” said Benitez after little Mathieu Valbuena dragged Marseille to an unlikely victory against the previous season’s beaten Champions League finalists in October 2007.
24) Roberto Martinez (one time)
While winning at Anfield with Everton proved similarly difficult for Moyes’ predecessor at Goodison Park, Martinez shrewdly arrived at the Toffees with that personal duck already broken with Wigan in March 2012.
23) Sean Dyche (one time)
Another Everton manager incumbent with more wins at Anfield than Moyes, Dyche and Burnley famously ended Liverpool’s 68-game unbeaten home run in January 2021. The post-match chana masalas with ghee and coriander were almost definitely on him.
22) Graham Potter (one time)
That aforementioned winter 2021 sequence of Liverpool home defeats was delightful fun and Potter’s Brighton made sure to indulge themselves.
21) Steve Clarke (one time)
West Brom doing the league double over Liverpool in the 2012/13 season must have been gratifying for Clarke, who was sacked as the Reds’ assistant manager when Rodgers was appointed and won two of their subsequent four meetings as West Brom boss.
20) Francesco Guidolin (one time)
The former Swansea manager – whose sacking was actually forced by Klopp – got some proactive revenge on Liverpool as a club by beating them with Udinese in the 2012/13 Europa League group stage.
19) Mark Hughes (one time)
This is the sort of territory that will start to make gradually more difficult reading for Moyes. Hughes “got a win on paper” in the 2016 League Cup semi-final through Marko Arnautovic in normal time, even if Stoke eventually succumbed to their hosts on penalties.
18) Gordon Strachan (one time)
With exit at the end of the season upon the expiration of his Southampton contract already in mind, Strachan still managed to deliver a deserved away win at Anfield through Brett Ormerod and Michael Svensson in December 2003. The Scot ended up leaving his post in February due to speculation over his future.
17) Brian McDermott (one time)
Reading, one place and two points above the Championship relegation zone, not only forced a replay of their FA Cup third-round tie with Liverpool in January 2010, but they won it at Anfield under caretaker manager McDermott with an extra-time Shane Long goal.
16) Roy Hodgson (one time)
This one hurt more than most for Liverpool, considering Hodgson only won six Premier League games at Anfield when he was actually managing there every other week. He returned with both a vengeance and a Peter Odemwingie.
15) Claude Puel (two times)
Five Premier League games against Liverpool generated no wins for Puel, but the Frenchman was not to be stopped in cup competitions. He guided Lyon to a Champions League group-stage victory en route to that season’s semi-finals, before eking past the Reds with Southampton in the League Cup little over seven years later.
14) Steve Bruce (one time)
Come on, David. Steve Bruce has won as a visiting manager at Anfield. Steve Bruce. Darren Anderton scored! Liverpool won the Champions League later that season and Birmingham did the league double over them! And even that Everton team, which finished above the Reds in fourth, lost to them at Anfield! What are you doing, man?!
13) Scott Parker (one time)
A fitting end to that risible patch of winter 2021 form. Fulham won five games that season as they dropped back into the Championship, yet still beat the reigning and badly stuttering champions. Gary Neville quite enjoyed Liverpool’s “absolute collapse”, funnily enough.
12) Paul Clement (one time)
One Anfield visit. One victory. In fact, just one game against Liverpool as a manager ever. That’s efficiency.
11) Walter Schachner (one time)
A 1-0 Champions League qualifying round win in August 2004 at Anfield, Liverpool having already won the first leg against Grazer AK by two goals. But a win nonetheless.
10) Miodrag Jesic (one time)
A 1-0 Champions League qualifying round win in August 2005 at Anfield, Liverpool having already won the first leg against CSKA Sofia by two goals. But a win nonetheless.
9) Sam Allardyce (two times)
The goalscorers from Allardyce’s two Anfield wins, 13-and-a-half years apart with two different clubs, are something to behold: Mario Jardel, Jay-Jay Okocha and Youri Djorkaeff; then just Christian Benteke.
8) Jesse Marsch (one time)
‘My wife has been asking me since the match what’s wrong with me,’ said Marsch when asked to explain his celebration upon Crysencio Summerville’s 89th-minute winner at Anfield in October 2022. It was a huge road win for Leeds so why not bring back the Ali G booyakasha hand movements? The Moyes jubilance when he finally gets that victory away at Liverpool is going to be incredible.
7) Ian Holloway (one time)
Blackpool doing the league double over Liverpool in the space of four months isn’t nearly spoken about enough. “If you are in the relegation zone, then you are in a relegation battle,” Hodgson said after the first game, rallying the troops as they slipped to 18th following defeat to Holloway’s side in October 2010. Moyes’ Everton beat the Reds the next week but could only draw at Anfield when January came around.
6) Mick McCarthy (one time)
In between all that daftness, Wolves ventured down to Anfield in December 2010 for a relegation six-pointer and emerged with the entirety of the spoils through Stephen Ward’s goal.
5) Trevor Francis (one time)
Crystal Palace forced a replay of their FA Cup fourth-round tie against Liverpool with a goalless draw at Selhurst Park, before winning 2-0 at Anfield while floating around in the First Division mid-table. That did not spare Francis from receiving this fabled present a couple of months later.
4) Alan Pardew (three times)
‘When you’re the King, you can do anything,’ Pardew once allegedly but absolutely definitely said. He lived by that motto at Anfield, delivering wonderful victories for Crystal Palace in May and November of 2015. The first came against Rodgers, while the latter left Klopp feeling “pretty alone” and questioning the atmosphere. Some things never change. Pardew even came back to win with West Brom in the FA Cup a few years later.
3) Paul Lambert (three times)
It was a similar story for Lambert, who guided Aston Villa to Premier League wins at Anfield in December 2012 and September 2014, before inspiring an FA Cup victory for Championship side Wolves in January 2017.
2) Simon Davey (one time)
A somewhat forgotten FA Cup shock, Championship relegation battlers Barnsley recovered from the ignominy of conceding to Dirk Kuyt to progress through Brian Howard’s late winner in 2008.
1) Ian Sampson (one time)
Moyes might protest that this one is not a victory in the strictest sense but it certainly felt like it for League Two side Northampton, who led in extra-time of their League Cup third-round tie at Anfield in September 2010 before advancing on penalties. Hodgson foresaw a “formidable challenge” and admitted after the match that Liverpool could “perhaps rightly” be criticized.
Anfield is indeed a fortress for Liverpool.
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