On 8 December 2000, Bišćan contract was bought-out by Liverpool for £5.5 million at the behest of its manager, Gérard Houllier, having been sought by Juventus, Barcelona, Ajax and Milan. His debut came in a Premier League match against Ipswich Town, which Liverpool lost 1–0, with Bišćan coming off the bench to replace Christian Ziege in 71st minute. One week later, he played full 90 minutes against Manchester United at Old Trafford, with Liverpool breaking 3,240 minutes of United's undefeated run at their home ground by defeating them 1–0. He made an impressive start to his Liverpool career, briefly displacing Dietmar Hamann from the starting 11 as the defensive midfielder. He made 21 appearances by the end of the 2000–01 season, 15 of which he started and six of which he came off the substitutes' bench in. He scored his first goal for Liverpool on 14 January 2001, converting in the 18th minute of the 2000–01 League Cup match against Crystal Palace in a 5–0 victory. Unfortunately for Bišćan, he was cup–tied and therefore ineligible to play for Liverpool in their UEFA Cup-winning season.