The Joy of Six: Liverpool v Real Madrid

For clubs with such rich history in Europe it seems strange now that this was the first time they met. Preparation for the Paris final wasn’t the best, with wrangling over shirt advertising affecting the buildup and, remarkably, both sides having to contend with a dreadful Parc des Princes pitch that had been torn up by a rugby match two weeks beforehand.

Liverpool had endured a relatively poor league season with an ageing squad staggering home in fifth. They had won the League Cup for the first time, mind, and Phil Thompson, the club captain, had been given a telling off for leaving the trophy on the coach overnight – which would have a bearing on events after this final.

With both teams enjoying a possession-based approach it wasn’t a match with a long highlights reel. Laurie Cunningham, who was returning for Madrid after a long injury layoff, was marked out of the game while Graeme Souness and Juanito cancelled each other out in midfield. When the only goal came it was a happy accident. Ray Kennedy found Alan Kennedy with a throw-in and, well, I’ll let him tell the story. “I didn’t even want the ball … but [it] hit me on the chest and dropped perfectly. The defender came in and nothing happened … I didn’t know whether to shoot or cross, and basically just wellied it towards goal,” he told the Guardian in 2009. “It went in and I ran behind the goal to celebrate.” It was Liverpool’s – and Bob Paisley’s – third European Cup, putting them one ahead of Nottingham Forest and him one ahead of Brian Clough. That it came against the record six-time winners made it all the sweeter.

Now back to Thompson. So concerned was he about losing the trophy and getting another roasting, that he “put it in the back of my Ford Capri and