Having finished second to Arsenal during the 2001-02 campaign, Gerard Houllier was determined for his Liverpool side to go one better next time around.
Unsurprisingly, the Frenchman headed back to his homeland to recruit midfielders Salif Diao and Bruno Cheyrou, but having decided against signing loanee Nicolas Anelka on a permanent basis, Houllier needed a goalscorer to keep the likes of Michael Owen and Emile Heskey on their toes.
The player picked to take on that role was El-Hadji Diouf, who just a day after he was confirmed as a Liverpool player in a £10m move from Lens, took the World Cup by storm as he starred for the Senegal side that defeated defending champions France and went on to reach the quarter-finals.
If that had the Liverpool faithful excited, they were salivating by the end of his home debut 13 years ago today when Southampton visited Anfield.
Diouf had shone on his first outing for the Reds away at Aston Villa a week earlier - a game that is best remembered for Norwegian full-back John Arne Riise scoring the only goal.
But, within three minutes of the clash getting underway against the Saints, it was Diouf that had taken over the goalscoring mantle. An error by Southampton's Paul Telfer allowed Heskey to cross for the 21-year-old, who made no mistake with an instant finish.
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It was a goal that put the hosts in the ascendancy, but it wasn't until the 51st minute when Diouf struck for a second time that the points were made safe. Heskey was once again heavily involved as he flicked on Abel Xavier's long throw for Liverpool's new number nine to head in at the back post.
The brace made Diouf an instant hit, highlighted by the standing ovation that he received when he was replaced by Vladimir Smicer 10 minutes from the end.
With Diouf basking in the glory of an impressive maiden Anfield outing on the bench, Liverpool added a third goal in stoppage time when Cheyrou was hauled down inside the area by Southampton left-back Wayne Bridge. Up stepped Danny Murphy, who calmly converted the resultant penalty.
"I said El Hadji Diouf was something special. No one here had heard of him before the World Cup. Everyone has now," said a delighted Houllier after the final whistle.
However, despite all the optimism, that was really as good as it got for Diouf at Liverpool. He didn't score another league goal until March and his career was marred by a series of unsavoury incidents, such as when he was caught on camera spitting at a Celtic fan during a UEFA Cup clash at Parkhead.
Then, in 2005 and after a season-long loan stint with Bolton Wanderers, Diouf joined the Trotters on a permanent deal having scored six goals in 79 Liverpool appearances.
LIVERPOOL: Dudek; Xavier, Hyypia, Henchoz, Traore; Murphy, Hamann, Gerrard (Cheyrou); Heskey, Diouf (Smicer), Owen (Riise)
SOUTHAMPTON: Jones; Delap, Lundekvam (M Svensson), Williams, Bridge; Telfer, A Svensson, Marsden, Fernandes; Pahars (Tessem), Beattie
Liam Apicella
