Brian Hall needed only three minutes to score Liverpool’s first league goal of 1972–73. Ian Callaghan supplied the second near the end, as a season that would bring the championship began with a 2–0 win against Manchester City.
Anfield’s opening fixture on 12 August followed a campaign in which Liverpool and City had both finished one point behind champions Derby County. The new season offered a fresh start, with two of the previous year’s close contenders meeting immediately.
Steve Heighway was credited with the assist for Hall’s opener. Liverpool held that lead into half-time, although both teams had lost a player before the interval. Larry Lloyd and City’s Wyn Davies were sent off in the forty-second minute.
The second half was therefore played with ten men on each side. Liverpool preserved the advantage until Callaghan scored with six minutes left, giving them a two-goal margin and their first two points.
Bill Shankly had strengthened his squad with Peter Cormack from Nottingham Forest, but the midfielder was not in the opening-day side. His debut would come against Derby in September. The team facing City retained the familiar combination of Hall and Callaghan alongside Heighway, Kevin Keegan and John Toshack.
Liverpool would win four of their opening five league matches. The Manchester City result began that sequence, and Manchester United were beaten by the same score at Anfield three days later.
None of that made a championship certain in August. The previous season had demonstrated how little could separate the leading clubs. What Liverpool had on the opening afternoon was concrete: an early goal, a lead protected after the dismissals, and a second goal to finish the job.