Liverpool – Champions League History

Liverpool head into battle of Saturday evening looking to create more memories in the Champions League. Over the years, Liverpool has lifted the famous cup on six separate occasions and will be looking to equal AC Milan’s record of seven titles with a victory in Paris. The first of the six titles came for Liverpool came all the way back in the 1976/77 season against German side Borussia Monchengladbach.

Terry McDermott, Tommy Smith and Phil Neal all got on the scoresheet in a resounding 3-1 victory. More poignant was that this would be the final game for legendary Liverpool midfielder Kevin Keegan who swapped Merseyside for Hamburg for a German record fee. Liverpool would not have to wait long for their second taste of European glory, successfully defending their crown just a year later in the 1977/78 final against Club Brugge.

Interestingly it was the replacement for Kevin Keegan, Kenny Dalglish who came up with the decisive goal in the 64th minute. A hat-trick of European Cups was confirmed during the 1980/81 season with a 1-0 victory over Real Madrid in Paris, something Liverpool fans today would definitely want today ahead of the final. In a tight and tetchy contest, it was full-back Alan Kennedy who scored the only goal of the contest on the 81st minute.

The win underlined the dominance of English teams in the European Cup, with this being the fifth consecutive season that a team from England came away with the trophy. Three years later a fourth European Cup was added to the trophy cabinet at Anfield. Phil Neal scored an early goal for the Merseyside giants before Roma’s Roberto Pruzzo levelled the contest just after half-time.