| Event | 1972–73 UEFA Cup | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||
| on aggregate | |||||||
| First leg | |||||||
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| Date | 10 May 1973 | ||||||
| Venue | Anfield, Liverpool | ||||||
| Referee | Erich Linemayr (Austria) | ||||||
| Attendance | 41,169 | ||||||
| Second leg | |||||||
| |||||||
| Date | 23 May 1973 | ||||||
| Venue | Bökelbergstadion, Mönchengladbach | ||||||
| Referee | Pavel Kazakov (Soviet Union) | ||||||
| Attendance | 34,905 | ||||||
The 1973 UEFA Cup Final was an association football match played over two-legs between Liverpool of England and Borussia Mönchengladbach of West Germany. The first leg was played at Anfield, Liverpool on 10 May 1973 and the second leg was played on 23 May 1973 at the Bökelbergstadion, Mönchengladbach. It was the final of the 1972–73 season of Europe's secondary cup competition, the UEFA Cup. Liverpool and Mönchengladbach were both appearing in their first final, although Liverpool had previously reached the final of the European Cup Winners' Cup losing 2–1 to Borussia Dortmund.
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. The majority of Liverpool's ties were won by at least two goals, the exception was the semi-final against Tottenham Hotspur, which Liverpool won on the away goals rule. Borussia Mönchengladbach's ties were predominantly one-sided. The West German team won by at least four goals in all four of their ties, a 9–2 aggregate victory over 1. FC Kaiserslautern represented their biggest margin of victory.
Watched by a crowd of 41,169 at Anfield, Liverpool took the lead in the first leg when Kevin Keegan scored in the 21st minute. Another goal by Keegan in the first half, extended Liverpool's lead and a further goal by Larry Lloyd meant Liverpool won the first leg 3–0. Therefore, in the second leg at the Bökelbergstadion, Liverpool had to avoid losing by three clear goals to win the competition. A crowd of 34,905 watched Borussia take the lead in the 29th minute courtesy of a Jupp Heynckes goal, he scored again 11 minutes later to double Borussia's lead. Borussia were unable to find the third goal they needed to take the match into extra-time and won the second leg 2–0. Thus, Liverpool won the final 3–2 on aggregate to win their first European trophy.