 Match programme cover | |||||||
| Event | 1980–81 European Cup | ||||||
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| Date | 27 May 1981 | ||||||
| Venue | Parc des Princes,Paris | ||||||
| Referee | Károly Palotai (Hungary) | ||||||
| Attendance | 48,360 | ||||||
←1980 1982 → | |||||||
The1981 European Cup final was anassociation football match betweenLiverpool of England andReal Madrid of Spain on 27 May 1981 at theParc des Princes, Paris, France. It was the final match of the1980–81 season of Europe's premier cup competition, theEuropean Cup. Liverpool were appearing in their third final, after two appearances in1977 and1978. Real Madrid were appearing in their ninth final, they had previously won the competition six times and lost twice.
Each club needed to progress through four rounds to reach the final. Matches were contested over two legs, with a match at each team's home ground. All but one of Liverpool's ties were comfortable victories; they beatBayern Munich on theaway goals rule, while they won all their other ties by at least five goals. Real Madrid's matches ranged from close affairs to comfortable victories. In the first round they beatLimerick 7–2 on aggregate, but their final two ties were won by at least two goals.
Watched by a crowd of 48,360, the first half was goalless. Liverpool took the lead in the second half whenAlan Kennedy scored. They held this lead to win the match 1–0, securing Liverpool's third European Cup and a fifth consecutive victory by an English team. Liverpool managerBob Paisley became the first manager to win the competition three times. As of 2024, this is Real Madrid's most recent loss in a European Cup/UEFA Champions League final as they would go on to win in each of their subsequent final appearances.[1]
| Round | Opponents | First leg | Second leg | Aggregate score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Oulun Palloseura | 1–1 (a) | 10–1 (h) | 11–2 |
| 2nd | Aberdeen | 1–0 (a) | 4–0 (h) | 5–0 |
| Quarter-finals | CSKA Sofia | 5–1 (h) | 1–0 (a) | 6–1 |
| Semi-finals | Bayern Munich | 0–0 (h) | 1–1 (a) | 1–1 |
Liverpool gained entry to the competition by winning the1979–80 Football League First Division, entering as English champions.[2] Their opponents in the first round were Finnish championsOulun Palloseura. The first leg in Finland at theRaatti Stadion was drawn 1–1. The second leg at Liverpool's home groundAnfield resulted in a comprehensive 10–1 victory for Liverpool. Two of their players,Graeme Souness andTerry McDermott, scored ahat-trick. Liverpool won the tie 11–2 on aggregate.[3]
In the second round, Liverpool were drawn against Scottish championsAberdeen, managed byAlex Ferguson. The first leg was at Aberdeen's home ground,Pittodrie, a McDermott goal in the fifth minute ensured a 1–0 victory for Liverpool. The second leg at Anfield was won 4–0 by Liverpool, thus they won the tie 5–0 on aggregate.[4] Liverpool's opponents in the quarter-finals were Bulgarian championsCSKA Sofia. The first leg was held in England, another hat-trick from Souness and goals from McDermott andSammy Lee gave Liverpool a 5–1 victory. They won the second leg at theVasil Levski National Stadium 1–0 to progress to the semi-finals courtesy of a 6–1 aggregate victory.[5]
They faced West German championsBayern Munich in the semi-finals. The first leg in England ended in a 0–0 draw. Liverpool needed to score in the second leg to advance to the final. Their cause was not helped when strikerKenny Dalglish had to be replaced in the early minutes of the match by the inexperiencedHoward Gayle. However, Gayle rose to the occasion, unsettling the Bayern defence with his attacking threat.[6] With seven minutes of normal time left,Ray Kennedy scored to give Liverpool a 1–0 lead. Bayern responded soon afterwards whenKarl-Heinz Rummenigge scored, however, they needed to score another goal due to the away goals rule. They were unable to do so and Liverpool progressed to their third final in five seasons.[7]
| Round | Opponents | First leg | Second leg | Aggregate score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Limerick | 2–1 (a) | 5–1 (h) | 7–2 |
| 2nd | Honvéd | 1–0 (h) | 2–0 (a) | 3–0 |
| Quarter-finals | Spartak Moscow | 0–0 (a) | 2–0 (h) | 2–0 |
| Semi-finals | Internazionale | 2–0 (h) | 0–1 (a) | 2–1 |
Real Madrid gained entry to the competition as Spanish champions, after they won the1979–80 La Liga. Their opponents in the first round were Irish championsLimerick. Limerick took the lead in the first leg atLansdowne Road, but Real scored twice to win the first leg 2–1.[8] The second leg at Real's home ground, theSantiago Bernabéu Stadium, ended in a 5–1 victory for Real, they won the tie 7–2 on aggregate.[9]
Their opponents in the second round were Hungarian championsHonvéd. A goal fromSantillana ensured Real won the first leg 1–0 in Spain. Two goals fromLaurie Cunningham andFrancisco García Hernández secured a 2–0 victory in the second leg at Honvéd's home ground theBozsik József Stadion, thus, winning the tie 3–0 on aggregate.[9]
In the quarter-finals, Real faced Soviet championsSpartak Moscow. A 0–0 at theDynamo Lenin Stadium in the Soviet Union left the tie finely balanced heading into the second leg in Spain. Two goals fromIsidro in the second half secured a 2–0 victory in the match and over aggregate.[9]
Real's opponents in the semi-finals were Italian championsInternazionale. Real won the first leg 2–0 in Spain after goals from Santillana andJuanito. Internazionale needed to score twice to force the tie intoextra-time, however they were only able to score once. They won the second leg 1–0, but Real won the tie 2–1 on aggregate to progress to their ninth final.[9]
Liverpool were appearing in their third European Cup final. They had won their two previous appearances in1977 and1978. Real Madrid were appearing in their ninth final, they had won the competition six times,[10] including a record five successive victories from1956 to1960. Their sixth victory was in1966, while their two losses were in1962 and1964.[11]
Liverpool had finished fifth during the1980–81 Football League First Division, thus they needed to win the final to ensure that they would compete in the European Cup the following season. Despite this, Liverpool had won theFootball League Cup for the first time earlier in the season, defeatingWest Ham United 2–1 in a replay after thefinal finished 1–1.[12] Real Madrid had finished second in the1980–81 La Liga, they had qualified for theUEFA Cup as a result, but victory would enable them to compete in the European Cup the following season.[13]
Both sides had injury concerns before the match. Liverpool had doubts over a number of players.Kenny Dalglish had not trained for several weeks,[4] whileAlan Kennedy had been sidelined for six weeks with a broken wrist.[14] Real had concerns over strikerLaurie Cunningham who had been sidelined since November.[4]
Liverpool controlled the opening passages of the game. Their first goalscoring chance came in the 11th minute when Alan Kennedy's 30-yard shot was saved by Real goalkeeperAgustín.[14] Further chances were created, but neitherTerry McDermott or Dalglish were able to score. Real started to exert more of an influence after this, midfielderJuanito started to cause Liverpool problems with his passing. One pass foundJosé Antonio Camacho who beat Liverpool defenderAlan Hansen but put his shot wide of the Liverpool goal.[15] Despite their scoring opportunity, one problem Real had was to get the best out of their winger Cunningham. Not fully fit, he was tightly marked and made little impact in the match.[4]
Liverpool had a chance to take the lead before half-time.Phil Neal advanced down the right hand side of the pitch and found Dalglish who passed toGraeme Souness, who ran late through the Real defence. His subsequent shot was not held by Agustín, but Souness was unable to get to the rebounded ball. Real had the first chance of the second half. Liverpool's defence had stopped as they thought Cunningham was offside, however he was not and Camacho advanced towardsRay Clemence in the Liverpool goal. Clemence came off his line and ran towards the Real midfielder, Camacho attempted to lob the ball over the keeper, but his shot went over the goal.[15]
The tactical approaches of the two sides were cancelling each other out. Real's slow pace interspersed with high speed bursts,[14] while Liverpool preferred a more deliberate approach, keeping possession and making use of their wingers.[15] Their various forms of marking also negated each other, Realman marked Liverpool's best players such as Dalglish and Souness, while Liverpool were content for the nearest defender to mark the man on the ball.[14]
Despite the tactical battle Liverpool were able to score in the 81st minute. A throw-in fromRay Kennedy found Alan Kennedy, whose run up the left hand side of the pitch caught Real off-guard. Kennedy went past Real defenderRafael García Cortés into the Real box, his subsequent shot beat the Real goalkeeper to give Liverpool the lead. Soon afterwards Liverpool replaced Dalglish with midfielderJimmy Case in an attempt to see out the match.[14] Although Liverpool had chances to extend their lead as Real went all out to score, Real keeper Agustín made a number of saves to keep his team in the game.[15] The score remained 1–0 and Liverpool won their third European Cup, the first English club to do so.[15] Liverpool's victory meant thatBob Paisley became the first manager to win the European Cup three times.[16]
        Liverpool |      Real Madrid |
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