Anfield Royalty: Comparing Liverpool's 1987-88 Squad to the 2024-25 Champions

A tale of two title-winning teams, 37 years apart — and the timeless Liverpool DNA that connects them.

Liverpool 1987-1988 Squad

Ask any Liverpool fan to name the greatest Reds side of the 1980s and the answer comes quickly: Kenny Dalglish's 1987-88 outfit. Ask them to describe the most thrilling Liverpool title win of recent memory, and many will point straight to Arne Slot's 2024-25 champions.

Both teams ended their seasons holding the league trophy aloft. Both wore the famous red shirt with the same swagger. But the football world they inhabited could hardly have been more different. So how do these two iconic Liverpool sides really compare?

Let's dig in.

Setting the Stage

1987-88 was a season of reinvention. Kenny Dalglish had sold Ian Rush — the club's all-time leading scorer — to Juventus for a British-record £3.2 million. He reinvested boldly: John Barnes from Watford for £900,000, Peter Beardsley from Newcastle for a then-British-record £1.9 million, and Ray Houghton from Oxford United for £825,000, joining John Aldridge who had arrived the previous January. English clubs were still banned from European competition following the Heysel disaster, so domestic glory was the only prize on offer.

2024-25 told a similar story of pressure and transition. Arne Slot, virtually unknown to many English fans, arrived from Feyenoord to replace the irreplaceable Jürgen Klopp. The summer transfer business was famously minimal — just Federico Chiesa joined the senior squad. The expectation? Steady the ship. The reality? Slot delivered a record-equalling 20th league title in his debut campaign.

The Headline Numbers

Metric	1987-88	2024-25
Manager	Kenny Dalglish	Arne Slot
League finish	1st (First Division)	1st (Premier League)
Points	90 (from 40 games)	84 (from 38 games)
Record	26W-12D-2L	25W-9D-4L
Goals scored	87	86
Goals conceded	24	41
Unbeaten run	29 matches from opening day (record-equalling)	24 matches
Top scorer	John Aldridge (27 league / 30 all comps)	Mohamed Salah (29 league / 34 all comps)
Cup heartbreak	Lost FA Cup final 1-0 to Wimbledon	Lost League Cup final 2-1 to Newcastle
European football	Banned (Heysel ban)	Champions League R16 (lost to PSG on pens)

The stats tell a remarkable story of dominance for both sides. The '87-88 team's 29-match unbeaten start to the league was football artistry; Slot's 2024-25 vintage led the table essentially wire-to-wire from November onward and clinched the title with four games to spare.

The Spine of the Squad

Every great Liverpool team has been built from the back, and both these squads honoured that tradition.

In goal: Bruce Grobbelaar, the eccentric Zimbabwean shot-stopper with the wobbly legs from 1984, anchored the '87-88 side. In 2024-25, Alisson Becker — arguably the world's best goalkeeper — produced the saves that secured a league-best 14 clean sheets.

At the back: Alan Hansen, all elegance and reads of the game, captained the '87-88 team alongside Mark Lawrenson, Gary Gillespie, and the versatile Steve Nicol. The 2024-25 defence was marshalled by Virgil van Dijk — fittingly handed the trophy by Hansen himself on the day Liverpool clinched the title. Ibrahima Konaté partnered Van Dijk, while Trent Alexander-Arnold delivered nine goal contributions from right-back in what would prove his final Liverpool season.

In midfield: The '87-88 engine room was a thing of beauty — Steve McMahon's bite, Ronnie Whelan's intelligence, Jan Mølby's left foot, and Ray Houghton's relentless running. In 2024-25, Alexis Mac Allister, Dominik Szoboszlai, and the breakout star Ryan Gravenberch (who went from fringe player to ever-present) gave Slot the platform he needed.

Up top: John Barnes, Peter Beardsley, and John Aldridge formed perhaps the most fluid front three in English football history — Barnes' wing wizardry, Beardsley's clever movement, Aldridge's predatory finishing. Fast forward to 2024-25 and Mohamed Salah's individual brilliance carried the attack alongside Cody Gakpo, Luis Díaz, and the much-missed Diogo Jota.

Style and Soul

The '87-88 team played with a flowing, possession-based elegance that contemporaries described as "as good as any British team has ever been." Quick passing, intelligent movement, and a front line that could carve open any defence — Liverpool routinely put four past opposition that season.

Slot's 2024-25 side was different in execution but similar in philosophy. He tweaked Klopp's high-pressing model toward something more controlled — more midfield possession, less chaos, the same ruthless final third. The result was a squad that looked unflustered even under championship pressure, a team that named the same starting XI seven different times across the season.

Two teams, two eras, one common thread: Liverpool teams that knew exactly who they were.

The Cruel Cup Twist

Here's a strange echo across the decades: both sides lost a domestic cup final they were favoured to win.

In 1988, Wimbledon's "Crazy Gang" stunned Liverpool 1-0 at Wembley in one of the most famous FA Cup upsets ever, with Dave Beasant becoming the first goalkeeper to save a penalty in an FA Cup final — denying John Aldridge.

In 2025, Newcastle beat Liverpool 2-1 in the League Cup final at Wembley, ending the club's hopes of a domestic double. Different competitions, different opponents, same sting.

So Which Was Greater?

The honest answer? It's almost impossible to compare across eras. The 1987-88 side played in a more physical, more direct English game, with limited substitutions, no European football to manage, and against opposition that included Brian Clough's Nottingham Forest and a rising Manchester United. Slot's 2024-25 squad navigated a 38-game Premier League gauntlet plus a deep Champions League run, against opponents with billion-pound squads and global tactical sophistication.

What they share matters more than what separates them:

• A manager who outperformed expectations in his first or near-first full season in charge

• A spine of world-class players at goalkeeper, centre-back, and centre-forward

• A clear identity that everyone in the squad bought into

• A title won with style, not just grit

• The eternal Anfield roar behind them

  
  

Pick the team you grew up with, the team your dad told you stories about, or the team that made you fall in love with the Reds last season. Either way, you've picked greatness.

Final Word

Liverpool Football Club has been blessed with golden generations across its history — the Shankly sides, the Paisley era, Dalglish's stylists, Klopp's heavy-metal Reds. The 1987-88 squad and the 2024-25 champions belong on that mantelpiece together. Different decades.

Different football.

Same crest.

Same colour.

Same magic.

You'll Never Walk Alone — in any era.

Have a favourite player from either squad? Drop a comment below and let us know which side gets your vote.