First published on the award winning website https://tomkinstimes.com in September 2016. Liverpool’s failure to beat Sevilla in the Europa League final meant that Liverpool would be without European football for the 2016-17 season, something I lamented. Of course, since then, Liverpool competed in the 2017-18 Champions League, falling at the Final hurdle – although, did we fall or where we pushed, dragged or elbowed down by the considerable frame of Sergio Ramos? I produce the original 2016 article, adding a short up-to-date postscript.
As we see the resumption of European football this week, I lament our absence. I want us to be there – it is another trophy to win and being seen on TV in the latter stages is good for the club commercially and as an advert to attract players. I would have been happy in the Europa League, which sees the likes of ManchesterUnited, Ajax, Inter and Roma playing. I know some of you don’t agree– better to be out of Europe altogether than in a competition that distracts from the league. The EL has issues I’ll agree: in my opinion the fault lies with UEFA marketing, Thursday kick-offs, a knockout spot given as consolation for Champions League Group 3rd-place failures, and also the British press forever dissing a tournament that is still worthy of competing in.
It will be another year at least before we have the opportunity to experience the atmosphere of a European night under the floodlights of Anfield. Our home ground is built for Europe more than any other type of game. The noise, the colour, the smell and the sound of an evening kick-off in front of the Kop is an experience that fans from around the continent and the greatest footballers in the world want to savour. And now, with the new main stand added… aargh! We have to wait, but the wait is excruciating.
Last season we saw wins against Villareal, Borussia Dortmund and United in the Europa League. They were all fabulous European nights and will live long in the memory. It is sad that we could not follow that up with a memorable victory in Basle. I felt bereft, not just at the defeat, but what it meant – no Europe. During our absence we can console ourselves by thinking back on these three and many others famous evenings in Europe, especially winning five finals at neutral venues, three at away venues, plus two neutral venue and one home venue European Super Cup wins. Not that we are ever accused of living off of our past deeds of course!
Not only finals, but we also had great wins against famous opposition in earlier rounds: e.g., at the homes of Benfica in 1984, Roma in 2001, Barcelona in 2007, Inter in 2008 and Real Madrid in 2009. I would even count a brilliant draw in Howard Gayle’s most memorable turn at Bayern Munich in the 1981 European Cup semi.
However, it is at Anfield where we often talk of legendary nights – it is a stage that sets the senses racing. The Dortmund game certainly captures the spirit of those nights. Other victories such as defeating Real Madrid 4-0 in the Champions League (CL) Round 16 of 2009, or the 4-2 win over Arsenal in the quarters of ‘08, or the penalties victory over Chelsea in the ‘07 semi – were all stunning moments too.
What about handing a 3-0 defeat to a Bayern Munich side with Sepp Maier, Beckenbauer, Paul Breitner, Gerd Müller and Uli Hoeneßin 1971, or an array of wonderful victories against Juve, Standard Liege, Honved and Celtic (winning the 2ndleg 2-0 after losing 0-1 at Celtic Park in the 1stleg) all on the way to a defeat by Dortmund in the final of the 1966 Cup Winners Cup? Or the 3-1 win over Inter in the 1965 1stleg European Cup semi before the infamous (or even scandalous) turnover in Milan.
Nonetheless, I have a contentious point to make, one I know that at least one of the editors on this website does not agree with. I would argue that the above Anfield victories are not regarded as legendaryas LFC never went on to win a European trophy in those years. As a result the Dortmund game falls just short of legend. It was fabulous, exhilarating, spine tingling… all of your favourite adjectives in one; and yet it was all to nought – apart from being another great advert for Liverpool and Anfield in Europe.
Winning cups isn’t everything I know, but just as the silver and bronze medallists at this year’s Rio Olympics will contest, they have great personal memories but the only name they see in the record books is that of the person who took gold. Who did come second to Usain Bolt in the men’s 100m this year and did they blast their semi-final heat opposition apart? I don’t know. Who came second in London or Beijing? I don’t know either.
It is the winners who are celebrated; the runners up are soon forgotten. Liverpool FC are a winning club; not only that but we want to be knownas winners. We remember and celebrate the victories, not the plucky defeats or bridesmaid appearances, such as England in 1990 and 1996, or Arsenal every time they get the parade bus out to rejoice in finishing fourth in the league. Liverpool has a distinctive style in victory too. Sure, we do winning ugly as well as the next team, but some of our triumphs and especially those at Anfield have a certain panache or élan, which is made from Europe’s Legendary Anfield Nights (so, ELAN – a little contrived, sorry!).
My contention is that as fondly as we recall our 4-3 against Dortmund, we didn’t win the Europa League in 2016 so, sadly, that means this game (like the 4-0 over Real Madrid) will always be a great memory but it won’t go into legend. Personal fondness is one thing, but collective remembrance is another, and that is reinforced by overall accomplishment. St Etienne as a stand-alone game in a vibrant atmosphere was magnificent, but would it be remembered quite so fondly if we had lost in Rome a couple of months later? Be honest now.
So, what games do qualify as legendary nights at Anfield in European competition?
Up to now, we have won four European Cups, one Champions League, three UEFA Cups and three Super Cups. In those competitions we have played 41 games at our iconic home. Some of these games were not played in ‘jeopardy’, either because they were first leg or group games, or we won the away first leg comfortably (not as many of the latter as I thought). That should not exclude them, but there has to be something truly special to qualify for legendary status. Here is a list of all home games we have played in successful European campaigns.
| No. | Year | Comp-etion | Round | Opposition | Status1 | Anfield Score | Agg. Score |
| 1 | 1972-73 | UEFA Cup | Round 1 Leg 1 | Eintracht Frankfurt | N/A | 2-0 | 2-0 |
| 2 | R2 L1 | AEK Athens | N/A | 3-0 | 6-1 | ||
| 3 | R3 L2 | Dynamo Berlin | 0-0 | 3-1 | 3-1 | ||
| 4 | QF L1 | Dynamo Dresden | N/A | 2-0 | 3-0 | ||
| 5 | SF L1 | Tottenham Hotspur | N/A | 1-0 | 2-22 | ||
| 6 | Final L1 | Borussia Mönchengladbach | N/A | 3-0 | 3-2 | ||
| 7 | 1975-76 | UEFA Cup | R1 L2 | Hibernian | 0-1 | 3-1 | 3-2 |
| 8 | R2 L2 | Real Sociedad | 3-1 | 6-0 | 9-1 | ||
| 9 | R3 L2 | Ślask Wroclaw | 2-1 | 3-0 | 5-1 | ||
| 10 | QF L2 | Dynamo Dresden | 0-0 | 2-1 | 2-1 | ||
| 11 | SF L2 | Barcelona | 1-0 | 1-1 | 2-1 | ||
| 12 | Final L1 | Brugges | N/A | 3-2 | 4-3 | ||
| 13 | 1976-77 | European Cup | R1 L1 | Crusaders | N/A | 2-0 | 7-0 |
| 14 | R2 L2 | Trabzonspor | 0-1 | 3-0 | 3-1 | ||
| 15 | QF L2 | Saint-Étienne | 0-1 | 3-1 | 3-2 | ||
| 16 | SF L2 | FC Zürich | 3-1 | 3-0 | 6-1 | ||
| 173 | 1977 | Super Cup | Final L2 | Hamburg SV | 1-1 | 6-0 | 7-1 |
| 183 | 1977-78 | European Cup | R2 L1 | Dynamo Dresden | N/A | 5-1 | 6-3 |
| 19 | QF L2 | Benfica | 2-1 | 4-1 | 6-2 | ||
| 20 | SF L2 | Borussia Mönchengladbach | 1-2 | 3-0 | 4-2 | ||
| 21 | 1980-81 | European Cup | R1 L2 | Oulu Palloseura | 1-1 | 10-1 | 11-2 |
| 22 | R2 L2 | Aberdeen | 1-0 | 4-0 | 5-0 | ||
| 23 | QF L1 | CSKA Sofia | N/A | 5-1 | 6-1 | ||
| 24 | SF L1 | Bayern Munich | N/A | 0-0 | 1-12 | ||
| 25 | 1983-84 | European Cup | R1 L2 | Odense BK | 1-0 | 5-0 | 6-0 |
| 26 | R2 L1 | Athletic Bilbao | N/A | 0-0 | 1-0 | ||
| 27 | QF L1 | Benfica | N/A | 1-0 | 5-1 | ||
| 28 | SF L1 | Dinamo Bucharest | N/A | 1-0 | 3-1 | ||
| 29 | 2000-01 | UEFA | R1 L2 | Rapid Bucharest | 0-0 | 1-0 | 1-0 |
| 30 | R2 L1 | Slovan Liberec | N/A | 1-0 | 4-2 | ||
| 31 | R3 L2 | Olympiacos | 2-0 | 2-2 | 4-2 | ||
| 32 | R4 L2 | Roma | 2-0 | 0-1 | 2-1 | ||
| 33 | QF L2 | Porto | 0-0 | 2-0 | 2-0 | ||
| 34 | SF L2 | Barcelona | 0-0 | 1-0 | 1-0 | ||
| 35 | 2004-05 | Champ-ions League | Qual3 L2 | Grazer AK | 2-0 | 0-1 | 2-1 |
| 36 | Group G1 | AS Monaco | 2-0 | ||||
| 37 | Group G3 | Deportivo de La Coruña | 0-0 | ||||
| 38 | Group G6 | Olympiacos | Must win by 2 clear goals | 3-1 | |||
| 39 | R16 L1 | Bayer Leverkusen | N/A | 3-1 | 6-2 | ||
| 40 | QF L1 | Juventus | N/A | 2-1 | 2-1 | ||
| 41 | SF L2 | Chelsea | 0-0 | 1-0 | 1-0 |
Note1– Status of the tie going into the Anfield game. Liverpool’s score appears first in all columns. Note2– indicates that the tie was won on away goals rule. Note3– Games are listed in chronological order except 17 and 18.
For your information, our Anfield record for the above tournaments is Played 41, Won 34, Drawn 5, Lost 2, Goals For 105, Goals Against 18. My top 10 are bolded above and listed below in reverse order of legendary-ness. Of course, I’ll be interested to read any different opinions on inclusion and/or order in the comments below.
10) Hamburg (1977) – Terry McDermott scored a hat-trick as Liverpool inflict a thrashing against the Cup Winners Cup holders (and Kevin Keegan’s new team) to win the first of three European Super Cups.
9) Hibernian (1975) – Our second successful European campaign was in danger from the off following a 1-0 Round 1 defeat in Edinburgh. John Toshack scored early on at Anfield for The Reds but an equaliser meant we needed two goals to progress. Tosh completed his hattrick as we went through 3-2 on aggregate.
8) Barcelona (2001) – The treble cup campaign saw Liverpool play against a strong Barcelona team and veteran Gary McAllister scored from the spot (and past future Red Pepe Reina) to put Liverpool in their first European final since returning to the European fold. The drama would continue in Dortmund against Alaves.
7) Juventus (2005) – The first meeting of the clubs since Heysel gave rise to a strange but (mostly) respectful atmosphere before kick-off, but once the whistle blew, Rafa Benitez’s men inflicted a whirlwind opening half on the Bianconeri with a stretched volley from Hyppia and a stunning, dipping effort from Luis Garcia. It set them up for a shutout in Turin and advance to their first Champions League semi-final.
6) Borussia Mönchengladbach (1978) – an oft-overlooked game, perhaps due to other rich examples, but Liverpool had to overcome a 2-1 deficit from the first leg against the finalists of the previous campaign.‘Gladbach won three back-to-back Bundesliga titles and got to five European finals in the eight seasons between 1973 and 1980, but Liverpool were a European nemesis in one semi-final and two finals.
5) Borussia Mönchengladbach (1973) – Rearranged after an abandonment (allowing Shanks to make a telling personnel and tactical change). Despite a goal for future Forrest legend Larry Lloyd and two for Kevin Keegan, the defining moment of this game was a Ray Clemence penalty save. Had it been scored LFC may have lost on away goals rather than win their first European trophy 3-2 on aggregate.
4) Brugges (1976) – One of the great comebacks. LFC found themselves 2-0 down with only 30 minutes to go in the first leg of their second UEFA Cup final but a dazzling six minute display saw them steal the lead and give them the platform for an aggregate victory on Belgian soil and their second UEFA Cup title.
3) Olympiacos (2004) – Needing to win by two clear goals and then conceding to a Rivaldo free kick in the 1sthalf, The Reds had 45 minutes to score three. Close range efforts from Sinama-Pongolle then Mellor, and with four minutes remaining and 18 yards out, Gerrard belted it home to send the Kop (and Andy Gray) into rapture.
2) Chelsea (2005) – A strutting and confident Jose Mourinho led an expensively assembled and high quality side into Anfield as newly crowned Premier League Champions. The prevailing mood was that Chelsea were here to book a place at the Istanbul final – an away goal would do – and LFC (due to finish 5thin the league behind Everton) would be easily despatched despite an impressive goalless draw at the Bridge a week before. However, a bristling atmosphere that spooked the seasoned professionals in blue, a ‘ghost’ goal (ridiculously controversial given the alternative) and despite seven minutes of stoppage time, The Reds were deserved winners – Chelsea had only one shot on target in over three hours of football. The players celebrated in front of their ‘12thman’. This was not the final drama on the way to winning ol’ Big Ears for keeps, but it was special.
1) St Etienne (1977) – Agoal down from the first leg was cancelled out by an early Keegan strike, buta stunning long range drive from the French side early in the second half left Liverpool with a two-goal mountain to climb. A goalfrom Ray Kennedy onthe hour was not enough to see off the previous year’s finalists who five minutes from time were set to advance on away goals. A ball over the top of the bright green line of defence followed by a thirtyyard dash and cool side footinto the back of the net from the Bionic Carrot, Supersub David Faircloughsaw thefans cascading down the Kop. The delirium and the chants of ‘we shall not be moved’ lifted the team all the way to the end. St Etienne is the number 1 European Legendary Anfield Night because if this had not been, history may have been ever so different.
This is all just fun and games of course – but that is my list of the top ten Europe’s Legendary Anfield Nights. It is a personal opinion, but to me there is no comparison between the 3-1 win v St Etienne and the 4-0 v Real Madrid; the former is a superior achievement. Beating Brugges 3-2 trumps last April’s win over Dortmund. I’m fonder of a 2-0 v Crusaders (my first Anfield European match in 1976) than the 2-0 over United last season.
Had we won in Basle, I think the Dortmund victory would have gone in the list bumping the Hamburg game out. The quality of the opposition, the fantastic Dortmund fans, Klopp and the YNWA connections, and being 2-0 then 3-1 down but getting a last minute winner in a stunning atmosphere would have meant its place was more than merited. Where would it have gone on the list? 4th, 5thor 6thI think. However, if my contention is correct, it is not ‘legend’ and the discussion is hypothetical.
Even without Dortmund, the above is still a fine list; it warms the cockles, but let us not dwell too long – we want to be living through history and be making our own, not just recalling it. I know some fans will say that not doing the Europa Nights, Thursday-Sunday two-step will benefit us in the Premier League, but I’m profoundly disappointed that we are missing out this year. I sincerely hope it won’t be too long before we can talk of more European Legendary Anfield Nights, as to do so means we are winning cups on the continent.
Post Script
Two years later I still agree with my viewpoint – the stunning win against Borussia Dortmund still pales when compared to Anfield victories that led to trophies. In 2018 we came up against Real Madrid in Kiev. They were on the verge of winning three consecutive titles – the first time that would have been achieved since Bayern Munich 42 years earlier. Liverpool got to the final by scoring more goals in a campaign than any other club ever: they went to the final fearless, it genuinely felt like ‘old big ears’ could be in our grasp for a sixth time.
For 25 minutes, and baring a deserved goal, it felt that our dreams would come to pass. Here enter Sergio Ramos and exit Mo Salah. Ramos’s culpability in Salah’s shoulder dislocation is contentious, as too is his elbowing of Karius’s face minutes before Real’s first goal. We lost in Kiev for three reasons – Ramos, Karius’s two howlers and Liverpool’s bench (in respect of our quality compared to Madrid). With the greatest respect to Dominic Solanke he is not (yet at least) Gareth Bale.
We played seven games at Anfield, the first time under our enormous, new Main Stand. We won five, drew two, scored 24 goals and conceded six. None of the games were played under genuine jeopardy. We had a brilliant 7-0 victory over Spartak Moscow in our final group game and our 3-0 victory over eventual English champions Man City was immense. Those two games plus our first leg semi-final win over Roma deserve remembrance. Again, one or two could have squeezed into the top ten, but I don’t know. What I am certain about, however, given our loss in Kiev, they don’t get near. (September 2018).
The Centre Spot 