 Match programme cover | |||||||
| Event | 1980–81 European Cup | ||||||
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| Date | 27 May 1981 | ||||||
| Venue | Parc des Princes, Paris | ||||||
| Referee | Károly Palotai (Hungary) | ||||||
| Attendance | 48,360 | ||||||
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 last defeat in a European Cup/UEFA Champions League final as they would go on to win in each of their subsequent final appearances.[citation needed]