Liverpool reached the FA Cup final by beating Nottingham Forest 3–1 before 38,000 spectators at Old Trafford on 7 May 1989. The semi-final was being played again twenty-two days after the Hillsborough disaster, when the original match had been abandoned. John Aldridge scored twice to set up a Wembley meeting with Everton on 20 May.
Aldridge opened the scoring inside four minutes. Brian Laws and Tommy Gaynor collided while trying to clear Ray Houghton’s cross, leaving John Barnes a chance to shoot. Steve Sutton parried the volley, but Aldridge headed the rebound back over him.
Neil Webb equalised in the thirty-third minute with a low shot that went between Bruce Grobbelaar and the post. Liverpool also struck the crossbar before half-time, Aldridge meeting a Barnes cross with another header.
Houghton supplied the goal that restored Liverpool’s lead after fifty-eight minutes, lifting the ball across for Aldridge to head in. Liverpool kept possession for long spells as Forest struggled to recover. In the seventy-second minute, Peter Beardsley drove a low ball across goal and Laws turned it into his own net.