Liverpool hosted Coventry City in March 1995 the clear favourites for victory. After 90 minutes they were left licking their wounds, having fallen on the wrong side of a 3-2 defeat – courtesy of a Peter Ndlovu hat-trick.
The Coventry City and Premier League cult hero ran riot at Anfield that day, bagging a first-half brace to put the Sky Blues 2-0 in the lead at half-time. Liverpool hit back in the second half, but the Zimbabwean forward completed his hat-trick in the 85th minute with a jinking run before slotting past David James at the Kop end.
Having grown up a Liverpool fan in Zimbabwe, prior to his Coventry move in 1991, the hat-trick represented something of a “bittersweet” moment. Despite that, he became the first away player in 33 years to score a hat-trick at Anfield, etching his name into the history books in doing so.
Peter Ndlovu bags hat-trick against Liverpool at Anfield
“I think that is the highlight of my career,” Ndlovu exclusively tells FourFourTwo. “As a youngster I had supported Liverpool, so to score three against them at the Kop end was unbelievable but also a bittersweet moment as a fan.
“Phil Babb, my favourite player, had left Coventry to join Liverpool and he said to me, ‘One day, you must come to Liverpool because it’s your team.’ After that game, he asked me, ‘How can you score three goals against your favourite team?’ I replied, ‘Hey, I’m at work for Coventry!’ I had to focus on where I was working, not who I supported.
“Still, it was a special occasion for me and I’ll cherish that forever. Andrey Arshavin and Leandro Trossard have also scored a [Premier League] hat-trick at Anfield, so us three hold that record – but many brilliant players have graced Anfield.”
Though Babb wanted Ndlovu at Liverpool, the Zimbabwean struggled for consistency after the 1994/95, with Coventry eventually selling him to second-tier Birmingham City in 1997.
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He had enjoyed a great time at Coventry, though, scoring 11 goals in two consecutive seasons between 1993 and 1995, and even earned interest from Arsenal.
Ndlovu rejected a move to Highbury, though, preferring to stay with Coventry where he felt loved and enjoy his football.
