Liverpool scored three times in five minutes against Sheffield United, turning a goalless match into a commanding lead. Two further goals after half-time completed a 5–0 win which put them top of the First Division.
The breakthrough at Anfield on 23 September 1972 came from Phil Boersma in the twenty-eighth minute. Alec Lindsay added the second three minutes later, and Steve Heighway made it three in the thirty-third minute.
Peter Cormack scored the fourth early in the second half. Kevin Keegan, credited with assists for both Boersma and Cormack, then added his own name to the scoresheet from the penalty spot.
There had been another penalty immediately beforehand. Tommy Smith missed that one, his kick going wide. Keegan converted Liverpool’s next opportunity from the spot to make the score 5–0 before the hour.
The five goals came from five different players. Cormack was still settling into a side he had joined from Nottingham Forest that summer. He had made his debut earlier in September and scored his first Liverpool goal against Wolves a week later.
Boersma, meanwhile, was contributing to a season which would demonstrate the importance of players beyond the established attacking partnership of Keegan and John Toshack. He would finish the league campaign with seven goals and add four in Liverpool’s successful UEFA Cup run.
This afternoon gave both players a prominent part in a substantial victory. Liverpool had fourteen points from ten matches, level with Tottenham but ahead on goal average. Their twenty-two goals scored and eleven conceded supplied the better ratio.
September’s table was only an early measure of the championship contest. Even so, this was a clear step forward: a five-goal win, a clean sheet and a return to first place, with the most decisive spell compressed into a few minutes before half-time.