1980/81: Kennedy the key man for Paisley's Liverpool

Liverpool 1-0 Real Madrid
(Kennedy 81)
Parc des Princes, Paris

The European Champion Clubs' Cup stayed in England for a fifth consecutive year in 1980/81, only it swapped the trophy cabinet at Nottingham Forest for the one at Liverpool. Holders Forest fell victim to CSKA Sofia in the first round, leaving centre stage to four clubs that had won the competition 13 times between them: Real Madrid, Inter, Bayern and Liverpool.

The Merseysiders started as they meant to go on. After scoring eleven goals against Oulu, they enjoyed convincing wins over Alex Ferguson's Aberdeen and CSKA. Semi-final opponents Bayern would be less inclined to roll over. Buoyant after a 6-2 quarter-final triumph over Baník Ostrava, Rummenigge and Co were further boosted by a 0-0 draw in the first leg at Anfield. A fortnight later, though, Ray Kennedy's strike in a 1-1 draw was enough to send Liverpool through on away goals.

Elsewhere, a meeting of super powers determined the identity of the other finalist. Madrid had already outclassed Limerick, Kispest Honvéd and Spartak Moskva, and got to add Inter's name to that list with a 2-1 aggregate success. But the Spanish team did not possess the wherewithal to finish the job, while Bob Paisley's did. Full back Alan Kennedy took a break from his defensive duties to grab an 81st-minute winner - and make his manager the first coach to achieve a hat-trick of victories with the one club.