| Event | 1975–76 UEFA Cup | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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| on aggregate | |||||||
| First leg | |||||||
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| Date | 28 April 1976 | ||||||
| Venue | Anfield,Liverpool | ||||||
| Referee | Ferdinand Biwersi (West Germany) | ||||||
| Attendance | 50,188 | ||||||
| Second leg | |||||||
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| Date | 19 May 1976 | ||||||
| Venue | Olympiastadion,Bruges | ||||||
| Referee | Rudi Glöckner (East Germany) | ||||||
| Attendance | 29,423 | ||||||
←1975 1977 → | |||||||
The1976 UEFA Cup Final wereassociation football matches played over two-legs betweenLiverpool of England andClub Brugge of Belgium on 28 April 1976 atAnfield, Liverpool and on 19 May 1976 at theOlympiastadion, Bruges. It was the final of the1975–76 season of Europe's secondary cup competition, theUEFA Cup. Liverpool were appearing in their second final; they had won the competition in1973. Brugge were appearing in their first European final and were the first Belgian team to reach the final of a European competition.
Each club needed to progress through five rounds to reach the final. Matches were contested over two legs, with one at each team's home ground. Liverpool's ties varied from comfortable victories to close affairs. They beat Spanish teamReal Sociedad 9–1 on aggregate in the second round, while they beat Spanish teamBarcelona 2–1 in the semi-finals. The majority of Brugge's ties were close. Their biggest margin of victory was by two goals, which occurred in both the first and third round againstLyon of France and Italian teamRoma, respectively.
Watched by a crowd of 50,188 at Anfield, Brugge took a two-goal lead in the first half of the first leg whenRaoul Lambert andJulien Cools scored. Liverpool recovered in the second half; three goals in seven minutes fromRay Kennedy,Jimmy Case, andKevin Keegan secured a 3–2 victory in the first leg for Liverpool. A crowd of 29,423 at the Olympiastadion saw Brugge take the lead in the 11th minute of the second leg. Liverpool equalised four minutes later when Keegan scored. The scores remained the same throughout the remainder of the match, resulting in a 1–1 draw. Thus, Liverpool won the final 4–3 on aggregate to secure their second UEFA Cup.
| Round | Opposition | First leg | Second leg | Aggregate score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st |  Hibernian | 0–1 (a) | 3–1 (h) | 3–2 |
| 2nd |  Real Sociedad | 3–1 (a) | 6–0 (h) | 9–1 |
| 3rd |  Śląsk Wrocław | 2–1 (a) | 3–0 (h) | 5–1 |
| Quarter-final |  Dynamo Dresden | 0–0 (a) | 2–1 (h) | 2–1 |
| Semi-final | Barcelona | 1–0 (a) | 1–1 (h) | 2–1 |
Liverpool qualified for the UEFA Cup by finishing as runners-up in the1974–75 Football League First Division. Their opponents in the first round were Scottish teamHibernian. Liverpool lost the first leg at Hibernian's home stadiumEaster Road 1–0, but recovered in the second leg at their home ground,Anfield, winning 3–1 courtesy of aJohn Toshackhat-trick. They thus won the round 3–2 on aggregate.[1] For the second round Liverpool were drawn against Spanish teamReal Sociedad; they won the first game 3–1 in Spain. A 6–0 victory in the second leg meant Liverpool won the tie 9–1 on aggregate.[2]
Liverpool's opponents in the third round wereŚląsk Wrocław of Poland. The first leg at Wrocław's home ground theStadion Oporowska was won 2–1 by Liverpool courtesy of goals fromRay Kennedy and Toshack. AJimmy Case hat-trick in the second leg at Anfield secured a 3–0 victory for Liverpool, which meant they progressed to the quarter-finals with a 5–1 aggregate victory.[3] Liverpool's next opponents were East German teamDynamo Dresden. The first leg in East Germany ended in a 0–0 draw, after Liverpool goalkeeperRay Clemence saved a penalty fromPeter Kotte. A 2–1 victory in the second leg courtesy of goals from Case andKevin Keegan meant Liverpool progressed to the semi-finals courtesy of a 2–1 aggregate victory.[4]
Spanish teamBarcelona were the opposition in the semi-finals. The first leg was held at Barcelona's home ground theCamp Nou. Liverpool won the match 1–0, after Toshack scored in the 13th minute. The second leg at Anfield saw Liverpool go ahead in the 50th minute whenPhil Thompson scored. Barcelona equalised a minute later but were unable to score again before the final whistle. The match ended 1–1; Liverpool progressed to their second UEFA Cup final courtesy of their 2–1 aggregate victory.[5]
| Round | Opposition | First leg | Second leg | Aggregate score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st |  Lyon | 3–4 (a) | 3–0 (h) | 6–4 |
| 2nd |  Ipswich Town | 0–3 (a) | 4–0 (h) | 4–3 |
| 3rd |  Roma | 1–0 (h) | 1–0 (a) | 2–0 |
| Quarter-final | A.C. Milan | 2–0 (h) | 1–2 (a) | 3–2 |
| Semi-final |  Hamburger SV | 1–1 (a) | 1–0 (h) | 2–1 |
Club Brugge gained entry to the UEFA Cup by finishing fourth in the1974–75 Belgian First Division.[6]Lyon of France were the opposition in the first round. The first leg, at Lyon's home groundStade de Gerland, ended in a 4–3 defeat for Brugge. They won the second leg at their home stadium, theOlympiastadion, 3–0 to secure their place in the next round courtesy of a 6–4 aggregate victory.[7]
Their opponents in the second round were English teamIpswich Town. The first leg, at Ipswich's home groundPortman Road, was won 3–0 by the English team. Brugge needed to score at least three goals to have any chance of staying in the competition. They won the second leg 4–0, to win the tie 4–3 on aggregate and progress to the third round.[7]
Roma were the opposition in the third round. Brugge won the first leg in Belgium 1–0 courtesy of aJulien Cools goal. Another 1–0 in the second leg at Roma's home ground, theStadio Olimpico meant Brugge progressed to the quarter-finals courtesy of a 2–0 aggregate victory. Brugge were drawn against another Italian team,A.C. Milan in the quarter-finals. They won the first leg 2–0 in Belgium thanks to goals fromUlrik le Fevre andEduard Krieger. Brugge lost the second leg 2–1, at Milan's home ground theSan Siro, but still qualified for the semi-finals as a result of a 3–2 aggregate victory.[7]
Brugge's opposition in the semi-finals were German teamHamburger SV. The first leg, at Hamburg's home ground theVolksparkstadion, ended in a 1–1 draw. This gave the advantage to Brugge, as they had an away goal. A 1–0 victory in the second leg in Belgium secured a 2–1 aggregate victory, which meant Brugge progressed to their first European final.[7]
Liverpool were appearing in their second UEFA Cup final. They had previously won the competition in 1973 when they beatBorussia Mönchengladbach 3–2. Club Brugge were appearing in their first European final and were the first Belgian team to reach the final of a European competition. The furthest they had progressed in previous European competitions was the quarter-finals of the1970–71 European Cup Winners' Cup,[8] where they were beaten by eventual winnersChelsea of England.[9]
Liverpool had won the1975–76 Football League First Division between the first and second legs of the UEFA Cup Final; a 3–1 victory overWolverhampton Wanderers on the final day of the league season ensured they became champions. As a result of their league success, Liverpool qualified for the1976–77 European Cup as English champions.[10] Brugge had won the1975–76 Belgian First Division; they won the competition by four points from second-placeAnderlecht. Their success meant that they would also be competing in next season's European Cup as Belgian champions.[6]
Brugge started the match the better of the two sides and took the lead in the 5th minute. A headed back-pass byPhil Neal fell short of Liverpool goalkeeperRay Clemence allowing Brugge midfielderRaoul Lambert to take control of the ball and lob it over Clemence and into the Liverpool goal.[11] Seven minutes later Brugge extended their lead whenJulien Cools scored. The Belgians kept attacking, but the Liverpool defence ofEmlyn Hughes andTommy Smith were able to repel the Belgians until half-time.[12]
Liverpool managerBob Paisley decided that a change to his team had to be made during the interval. Paisley decided to replace strikerJohn Toshack with midfielderJimmy Case. The change made a difference as Case's runs down the right hand side of the pitch unsettled the Belgians.[12] The full effect came in the 59th minute when Liverpool scored;Steve Heighway passed toRay Kennedy who scored from 20 yards (18 m).[4] Liverpool leveled the score two minutes later; a shot from Kennedy rebounded off the post to Case who scored from close range.[11]
Three minutes later Liverpool were ahead; Heighway was upended in the penalty area, andKevin Keegan scored the subsequent penalty to give Liverpool a 3–2 lead.[4] Liverpool had chances to increase their lead afterwards, but failed to do so; Brugge failed to score further as well. The final score when the referee blew for full-time was 3–2.[13]
        Liverpool |      Club Brugge |
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Liverpool entered the second leg with a one-goal lead, although Brugge needed to score only one clear goal to win the competition by virtue of theaway goals rule.[15] The Belgians scored the goal they needed in the 11th minute. Liverpool defender Smith was adjudged to have handled the ball in the Liverpool penalty area and Brugge were awarded a penalty kick. Lambert converted the opportunity to give Brugge a 1–0 lead and level the aggregate tie at 3–3.[16] Responding to the setback, Liverpool equalised four minutes later. They were awarded a free-kick outside the Brugge penalty area. Hughes rolled the ball to Keegan whose right-footed shot went into the Brugge goal to level the scores at 1–1 and give Liverpool a 4–3 aggregate lead. The goal incidentally was the first Brugge had conceded at home in the UEFA Cup all season.[16]
Brugge needed to score again to keep the tie alive, and pushed their players forward in search of an equaliser. This forced Liverpool to pull all their players, except Keegan, into defensive positions to try to preserve their lead.[15] Despite this Liverpool had a chance to take the lead in the 34th minute. Smith's volley from a Kennedy free-kick went wide of the Brugge goal.[16] Brugge's pressure almost paid off five minutes into the second half.Ulrik le Fevre andRoger Van Gool combined to split the Liverpool defence, leaving Lambert with the ball. His subsequent shot beat Liverpool goalkeeper Clemence but hit the post.[16] Brugge kept attacking in an effort to find the goal they needed; their best chance came four minutes from the end. Brugge breached the Liverpool defence, but Cools' shot was denied by a diving save from Clemence.[16] No more goals were scored; the final score was 1–1.
The second-leg draw meant Liverpool won the tie, 4–3 on aggregate, to win their second UEFA Cup after their first victory in1973. They also completed a League and UEFA Cup double for a second time. Liverpool managerBob Paisley was delighted with players after their performance in the second leg: "The second half was the longest 45 minutes of my life. There was an awful lot of pride in this game because we came representing England. We did not let the country down and we are proud of our lads."[17]
  Club Bruges | Liverpool |
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