 = 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 <unk> des <unk> , 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 . <unk> 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 . 
 <unk> by a crowd of 48 @,@ 360 , the first half was <unk> . 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 . 
 
 = = Route to the final = = 
 
 
 = = = Liverpool = = = 
 
 Liverpool gained entry to the competition by winning the 1979 – 80 Football League , entering as English champions . Their opponents in the first round were Finnish champions <unk> <unk> . The first leg in Finland at the <unk> <unk> was drawn 1 – 1 . The second leg at Liverpool 's home ground Anfield resulted in a comprehensive 10 – 0 victory for Liverpool . Two of their players , Graeme Souness and Terry McDermott , scored a hat @-@ trick . Liverpool won the tie 11 – 1 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 , <unk> , 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 <unk> <unk> . 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 <unk> <unk> National Stadium 1 – 0 to progress to the semi @-@ finals courtesy of a 6 – 1 aggregate victory . 
 They faced 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 <unk> 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 = = = 
 
 Real Madrid gained entry to the competition as 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 <unk> 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 <unk> . A goal from <unk> ensured Real won the first leg 1 – 0 in Spain . Two goals from Laurie Cunningham and Francisco García <unk> secured a 2 – 0 victory in the second leg at <unk> 's home ground the <unk> <unk> , thus , winning the tie 3 – 0 on aggregate . 
 In the quarter @-@ finals Real faced Soviet champions <unk> Moscow . A 0 – 0 at the Dynamo Lenin Stadium in the Soviet Union left the tie finely balanced heading into the second leg in Spain . Two goals from Isidro in the second half secured a 2 – 0 victory in the match and over aggregate . 
 Real 's opponents in the semi @-@ finals were Italian champions <unk> . Real won the first leg 2 – 0 in Spain after goals from <unk> and <unk> . <unk> needed to score twice to force the tie into extra @-@ time , however they were only able to score once . They won the second leg 1 – 0 , but Real won the tie 2 – 1 on aggregate to progress to their ninth final . 
 
 = = Match = = 
 
 
 = = = Background = = = 
 
 Liverpool were appearing in their third European Cup Final . They had won their two previous appearances in 1977 and 1978 . Real Madrid were appearing in their ninth final , they had won the competition six times , including a record five successive victories from 1956 to 1960 . Their sixth victory was in 1966 , while their two losses were in 1962 and 1964 . 
 Liverpool had finished fifth during the 1980 – 81 Football League , thus they needed to win the final to ensure that they would compete in the European Cup the following season . Despite this , Liverpool had won the Football League Cup for the first time earlier in the season , defeating West Ham United 2 – 1 in a replay after the final finished 1 – 1 . Real Madrid had finished second in the 1980 – 81 La Liga , they had qualified for the UEFA Cup as a result , but victory would enable them to compete in the European Cup the following season . 
 Both sides had injury concerns before the match . Liverpool had doubts over a number of players . Kenny Dalglish had not trained for several weeks , while Alan Kennedy had been sidelined for six weeks with a broken wrist . Real had concerns over striker Laurie Cunningham who had been sidelined since November . 
 
 = = = Summary = = = 
 
 Liverpool controlled the opening passages of the game . Their first goalscoring chance came in the 11th minute when Alan Kennedy 's 30 yard shot was saved by Real goalkeeper Agustín Rodríguez . Further chances were created , but neither Terry McDermott or Dalglish were able to score . Real started to exert more of an influence after this , midfielder <unk> started to cause Liverpool problems with his passing . One pass found José Antonio Camacho who beat Liverpool defender Alan Hansen but put his shot wide of the Liverpool goal . Despite their scoring opportunity , one problem Real had was to get the best out of their winger Cunningham . Not fully fit , he was tightly marked and made little impact in the match . 
 Liverpool had a chance to take the lead before half @-@ time . Phil Neal advanced down the right hand side of the pitch and found Dalglish who passed to Graeme Souness , who ran late through the Real defence . His subsequent shot was not held by Agustín Rodríguez , but Souness was unable to get to the rebounded ball . Real had the first chance of the second half . Liverpool 's defence had stopped as they thought Cunningham was offside , however he was not and Camacho advanced towards Ray <unk> in the Liverpool goal . <unk> came off his line and ran towards the Real midfielder , Camacho attempted to <unk> the ball over the keeper , but his shot went over the goal . 
 The tactical approach of the two sides were <unk> each other out . Real 's slow pace interspersed with high speed bursts , while Liverpool preferred a more deliberate approach , keeping possession and making use of their <unk> . Their various forms of marking also negated each other , Real man marked Liverpool 's best players such as Dalglish and Souness , while Liverpool were content for the nearest defender to mark the man on the ball . 
 Despite the tactical battle Liverpool were able to score in the 81st minute . A throw @-@ in from Ray Kennedy found Alan Kennedy , whose run up the left hand side of the pitch caught Real off @-@ guard . Kennedy went past Real defender Rafael García Cortés into the Real box , his subsequent shot beat the Real goalkeeper to give Liverpool the lead . Soon afterwards Liverpool replaced Dalglish with midfielder Jimmy Case in an attempt to see out the match . Although Liverpool had chances to extend their lead as Real went all out to score , Real keeper Agustín Rodríguez made a number of saves to keep his team in the game . The match remained 1 – 0 and Liverpool won their third European Cup , the first British club to do so . Liverpool 's victory meant that Bob Paisley became the first manager to win the European Cup three times . 
 
 = = = Details = = = 
 
 
 