On 3 April 1996, Liverpool faced Newcastle United in a Premier League fixture at Anfield, during the 1995–96 season. Liverpool won the match, scoring four goals to Newcastle's three. The winning goal was scored by striker Stan Collymore in the second minute of stoppage time. Before the match, both clubs had lost their previous fixtures but still had a chance of winning the league and wanted to close the gap between themselves and leaders Manchester United. Newcastle United, who had been 10 points ahead at Christmas, had suffered a decline during the previous two months, winning one match out of four in March 1996, and surrendering their lead of the league to Manchester United after spending virtually all of the season top of the table. Liverpool had won six of their last nine league games during February and March, scored the most goals and conceded the fewest until this match.
Liverpool started the match as the more promising team and striker Robbie Fowler scored the first goal. Newcastle striker Les Ferdinand scored the equaliser in the tenth minute and winger David Ginola added a second for Newcastle four minutes later. Fowler scored early in the second half to equalise but Faustino Asprilla restored their goal advantage in the 57th minute. Stan Collymore, who set up the opening goal for Liverpool, equalised for Liverpool in the 68th minute. In stoppage time, Collymore scored his second goal of the match involving a one-two with Ian Rush and John Barnes in the buildup. The winner sparked jubilant scenes for Liverpool supporters at Anfield and consigned Newcastle to their second consecutive defeat in the league, reducing their chances of winning the league, although ultimately Manchester United were not confirmed as champions until the final game of the season.
The match is considered to be among the best Premier League games in the history of the competition. Newcastle's manager Kevin Keegan described it as a "classic", while Liverpool manager Roy Evans said "the entertainment value was up there with the best". In 2003, the game was awarded the Match of the Decade award on behalf of the Premier League, which was celebrating its tenth anniversary. The result played a major factor in the outcome the league title race, as Manchester United lost only one more match that season and regained the title from Blackburn Rovers.
Background
Liverpool and Newcastle United are two of the biggest and best supported clubs in English football. Despite not having won a major honour since 1969, the Tyneside club is recognised for its passionate and loyal fanbase — over the course of 53 out of 63 seasons between 1946–47 and 2009–10, more people attended Newcastle home matches, on average, than home games played by the league champions. Between 1973 and 1990, Liverpool became the most successful club in England, amassing more than 20 major trophies including 11 league championships in a 17-year period, although they had been slightly less successful between 1991 and 1996, when their only honours were a single triumph in the FA Cup and Football League Cup. Both clubs had previously faced each other five times in the Premier League, following Newcastle's promotion for the 1993–94 season; Newcastle had won three times and Liverpool once, with the remaining match ending in a draw.
Pre-match
Both clubs went into the match having lost their previous matches. Liverpool lost 1–0 to Nottingham Forest at the City Ground on 23 March 1996, where the winning goal was scored by midfielder Steve Stone. The defeat was Liverpool's first in 21 matches in all competitions. On the same day, Newcastle were beaten 2–0 by Arsenal—their third defeat in five league matches. Newcastle's loss allowed Manchester United to move three points ahead at the top of the league the following day after striker Eric Cantona scored the winning goal against Tottenham Hotspur.
Although Newcastle had two games in hand over Manchester United going into April, their advantage was slim in comparison that at the end of January when Newcastle had a 12-point lead over Manchester United. When both teams met in March at St James' Park, Cantona scored the winning goal for Manchester United and goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel produced a number of outstanding saves which prevented midfielder Peter Beardsley and striker Les Ferdinand from scoring. The win was Manchester United's ninth successive victory in the league; they had also beaten Newcastle 2–0 in the corresponding fixture at Old Trafford in December 1995.
