When Liverpool beat Real Madrid in the 1981 European Cup final in Paris

With a minute to go at the Bernabéu in the second leg of Real Madrid’s semi-final against Manchester City, the prospect of reminiscing about the 1981 European Cup final seemed distant. Yet, there is something about this Real Madrid team that throws all logic out of the window. Somehow they scored twice in injury time to drag the tie into extra-time before finishing off a shellshocked City. “Improbably, miraculously, beyond their dreams and expectation,” as the wonderful Peter Drury declared.

So, Liverpool will meet Real Madrid in a European Cup final in Paris for the second time. It should be a classic, probably involving a Karim Benzema hat-trick in stoppage time that will leave Liverpool as stunned as the rest of Real Madrid’s opponents this season. That might be asking for too much, but the match should at least be an improvement on the 1981 final.

It was hardly surprising that their encounter on Wednesday 27 May 1981 was a bit of a let-down. Both teams had endured long seasons and, in the days before squad rotation, many players were running on empty or carrying injuries.

Liverpool’s route to the final was serene until the semi-finals. Bob Paisley’s team hammered Finnish side OPS 11-2 on aggregate in the first round before beating Aberdeen 5-0 in the second round and CSKA Sofia 6-1 in the quarter-finals to set up a tie with Bayern Munich, which they won on away goals. This was still a fine Liverpool team but injuries had hit them hard and, even though they won the League Cup, finishing fifth in the league was way below their usual high standards.

In hindsight, Paris would be the swansong for this version of Paisley’s team. Ray Clemence and Jimmy Case would leave the club in the summer, with Bruce Grobbelaar and Mark