Torres and Babel lead Liverpool’s six-goal win over Hull
Fernando Torres scored a hat-trick before his replacement Ryan Babel added two late goals as Liverpool beat Hull City 6–1 at Anfield.
Liverpool · Season reference
2009–10
A historical reference entry. Original long-form writing appears in Articles.
- Manager
- Rafael Benítez
- League / division
- Premier League
- League finish
- 7th
- Top scorer
- Fernando Torres · 22 goalsAll competitive first-team matches
- Trophies won
- None
Season overview
Liverpool finished seventh in the Premier League with 63 points in Rafael Benítez’s final season. They lost 11 league matches and ended seven points behind fourth-placed Tottenham. Xabi Alonso and Álvaro Arbeloa left for Real Madrid, while Glen Johnson, Alberto Aquilani and Sotirios Kyrgiakos were among the summer arrivals.
After elimination from the Champions League group stage, Liverpool reached the Europa League semi-final. They beat Unirea Urziceni, Lille and Benfica before Atlético Madrid progressed on away goals. A 2–1 extra-time win at Anfield left that tie level at 2–2 on aggregate. Reading knocked Liverpool out of the FA Cup in a third-round replay, and Arsenal ended their League Cup run in the fourth round.
Fernando Torres led the scoring with 22 goals in 32 competitive appearances. Benítez left by mutual consent on 3 June 2010, ending six years in charge.
Match reports
Explore 1 published report from 2009–10, in match order.
Domestic cups
- FA Cup
- Third round — lost 2–1 at home to Reading in a replay.
- League Cup
- Fourth round — lost 2–1 away to Arsenal.
Europe
- European Cup
- Champions League group stage — eliminated before the knockout rounds.
- UEFA Cup
- Europa League semi-final — lost to Atlético Madrid on away goals after a 2–2 aggregate draw.
Key players
- Fernando Torres
- Jamie Carragher
- Dirk Kuyt
- Pepe Reina
- Lucas Leiva
- Steven Gerrard
- Javier Mascherano
- Yossi Benayoun
- Emiliano Insúa
- Ryan Babel
- Daniel Agger
- Glen Johnson
Transfers
Significant senior moves. Fees are included only where established reliably; summer arrivals are grouped with the campaign they joined.
Transfers in
- Glen JohnsonFrom PortsmouthPermanent transfer
- Alberto AquilaniFrom RomaPermanent transfer
- Sotirios KyrgiakosFrom AEK AthensPermanent transfer
- Maxi RodríguezFrom Atlético MadridFree transfer
Joined in January 2010.
Transfers out
- Sami HyypiäTo Bayer LeverkusenFree transfer
Left in summer 2009.
- Jermaine PennantTo Real ZaragozaFree transfer
- Álvaro ArbeloaTo Real MadridPermanent transfer
- Xabi AlonsoTo Real MadridPermanent transfer
- Andrea DossenaTo NapoliPermanent transfer
- Andriy VoroninTo Dynamo MoscowPermanent transfer
Important connections
In the History Explorer
Rafael Benítez · 2004–2010Related seasons
2008–09Sources & historical notes
Researched and checked 13 September 2026. These sources support this season’s statistics, transfers and historical account. Key players are an editorial selection.
- LFChistory: 2009-10 league-table Final Premier League placing, points, home and away records and goals. Totals and margins calculated from the table.
- LFChistory: 2009-10 games Complete competitive results, dates and cup rounds; league winning runs and two-leg aggregates checked from the fixture list.
- LFChistory: 2009-10 goalscorers Competitive scoring totals, including European qualifiers and excluding friendlies and shoot-out kicks.
- LFChistory: 2009-10 transfers Selected senior moves and deal types. Preparatory summer transfers assigned to incoming campaigns.
- LFChistory: 2009-10 appearances Competitive appearance totals supporting the key-player selection.
- Liverpool FC: Fernando Torres 22 competitive goals in 32 appearances during 2009–10.
- UEFA: Benítez’s Liverpool reign ends Departure by mutual consent on 3 June 2010 after six years; seventh place and Champions League group-stage exit.
- LFChistory: Atlético Madrid semi-final Liverpool won the second leg 2–1 after extra time but lost on away goals at 2–2 aggregate.
- LFChistory: 2008–09 transfers Hyypiä and Pennant left in summer 2009; both free transfers, allocated to the incoming campaign.
- LFChistory: Sami Hyypiä Bayer Leverkusen was Hyypiä’s next club after his Liverpool departure in 2009.
Notes on the record
Overview evidence: paragraph 1 — lfch-league, lfch-transfers and uefa-benitez; paragraph 2 — lfch-games, lfch-atletico and uefa-benitez; paragraph 3 — lfch-scorers, lfc-torres and uefa-benitez.
The Europa League uses the existing uefa-cup identity with its contemporary name in the result. No new duplicate competition or season system is introduced.
Hyypiä and Pennant’s summer departures belong here. Benítez’s June departure is described as the conclusion of his final campaign; Hodgson is recorded in 2010–11. Torres’s injuries are not used to speculate about the cause of the league finish.