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1981 European Cup final

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1981 European Cup final

The 1981 European Cup final was an association football match between Liverpool of England and Real Madrid of Spain on 27 May 1981 at the Parc des Princes, Paris, France. It was the final match of the 1980–81 season of Europe's premier cup competition, the European Cup. Liverpool were appearing in their third final, after two appearances in 1977 and 1978. 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 beat Bayern Munich on the away 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 beat Limerick 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 when Alan 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 manager Bob 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.

Liverpool gained entry to the competition by winning the 1979–80 Football League First Division, entering as English champions. Their opponents in the first round were Finnish champions Oulun Palloseura. The first leg in Finland at the Raatti Stadion was drawn 1–1. The second leg at Liverpool's home ground Anfield resulted in a comprehensive 10–1 victory for Liverpool. Two of their players, Graeme Souness and Terry McDermott, scored a hat-trick. Liverpool won the tie 11–2 on aggregate.

In the second round, Liverpool were drawn against Scottish champions Aberdeen, managed by Alex 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. Liverpool's opponents in the quarter-finals were Bulgarian champions CSKA Sofia. The first leg was held in England, another hat-trick from Souness and goals from McDermott and Sammy Lee gave Liverpool a 5–1 victory. They won the second leg at the Vasil Levski National Stadium 1–0 to progress to the semi-finals courtesy of a 6–1 aggregate victory.

They faced West German champions Bayern 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 striker Kenny Dalglish had to be replaced in the early minutes of the match by the inexperienced Howard Gayle. However, Gayle rose to the occasion, unsettling the Bayern defence with his attacking threat. With seven minutes of normal time left, Ray Kennedy scored to give Liverpool a 1–0 lead. Bayern responded soon afterwards when Karl-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.

Real Madrid gained entry to the competition as Spanish champions, after they won the 1979–80 La Liga. Their opponents in the first round were Irish champions Limerick. Limerick took the lead in the first leg at Lansdowne Road, but Real scored twice to win the first leg 2–1. The second leg at Real's home ground, the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium, ended in a 5–1 victory for Real, they won the tie 7–2 on aggregate.

Their opponents in the second round were Hungarian champions Honvéd. A goal from Santillana ensured Real won the first leg 1–0 in Spain. Two goals from Laurie Cunningham and Francisco García Hernández secured a 2–0 victory in the second leg at Honvéd's home ground the Bozsik József Stadion, thus, winning the tie 3–0 on aggregate.

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