The 1976 UEFA Cup Final were association football matches played over two-legs between Liverpool of England and Club Brugge of Belgium on 28 April 1976 at Anfield, Liverpool and on 19 May 1976 at the Olympiastadion, Bruges. It was the final of the 1975âÂÂ76 season of Europe's secondary cup competition, the UEFA Cup. Liverpool were appearing in their second final; they had won the competition in 1973. Brugge were appearing in their first European final and were the first Belgian team to reach the final of a European competition.
Each club needed to progress through five rounds to reach the final. Matches were contested over two legs, with one at each team's home ground. Liverpool's ties varied from comfortable victories to close affairs. They beat Spanish team Real Sociedad 9âÂÂ1 on aggregate in the second round, while they beat Spanish team Barcelona 2âÂÂ1 in the semi-finals. The majority of Brugge's ties were close. Their biggest margin of victory was by two goals, which occurred in both the first and third round against Lyon of France and Italian team Roma, respectively.
Watched by a crowd of 50,188 at Anfield, Brugge took a two-goal lead in the first half of the first leg when Raoul Lambert and Julien Cools scored. Liverpool recovered in the second half; three goals in seven minutes from Ray Kennedy, Jimmy Case, and Kevin Keegan secured a 3âÂÂ2 victory in the first leg for Liverpool. A crowd of 29,423 at the Olympiastadion saw Brugge take the lead in the 11th minute of the second leg. Liverpool equalised four minutes later when Keegan scored. The scores remained the same throughout the remainder of the match, resulting in a 1âÂÂ1 draw. Thus, Liverpool won the final 4âÂÂ3 on aggregate to secure their second UEFA Cup.
Liverpool qualified for the UEFA Cup by finishing as runners-up in the 1974âÂÂ75 Football League First Division. Their opponents in the first round were Scottish team Hibernian. Liverpool lost the first leg at Hibernian's home stadium Easter Road 1âÂÂ0, but recovered in the second leg at their home ground, Anfield, winning 3âÂÂ1 courtesy of a John Toshack hat-trick. They thus won the round 3âÂÂ2 on aggregate. For the second round Liverpool were drawn against Spanish team Real Sociedad; they won the first game 3âÂÂ1 in Spain. A 6âÂÂ0 victory in the second leg meant Liverpool won the tie 9âÂÂ1 on aggregate.
Liverpool's opponents in the third round were à Âlàsk Wrocà Âaw of Poland. The first leg at Wrocà Âaw's home ground the Stadion Oporowska was won 2âÂÂ1 by Liverpool courtesy of goals from Ray Kennedy and Toshack. A Jimmy Case hat-trick in the second leg at Anfield secured a 3âÂÂ0 victory for Liverpool, which meant they progressed to the quarter-finals with a 5âÂÂ1 aggregate victory. Liverpool's next opponents were East German team Dynamo Dresden. The first leg in East Germany ended in a 0âÂÂ0 draw, after Liverpool goalkeeper Ray Clemence saved a penalty from Peter Kotte. A 2âÂÂ1 victory in the second leg courtesy of goals from Case and Kevin Keegan meant Liverpool progressed to the semi-finals courtesy of a 2âÂÂ1 aggregate victory.
Spanish team Barcelona were the opposition in the semi-finals. The first leg was held at Barcelona's home ground the Camp Nou. Liverpool won the match 1âÂÂ0, after Toshack scored in the 13th minute. The second leg at Anfield saw Liverpool go ahead in the 50th minute when Phil Thompson scored. Barcelona equalised a minute later but were unable to score again before the final whistle. The match ended 1âÂÂ1; Liverpool progressed to their second UEFA Cup final courtesy of their 2âÂÂ1 aggregate victory.
Club Brugge gained entry to the UEFA Cup by finishing fourth in the 1974âÂÂ75 Belgian First Division. Lyon of France were the opposition in the first round. The first leg, at Lyon's home ground Stade de Gerland, ended in a 4âÂÂ3 defeat for Brugge. They won the second leg at their home stadium, the Olympiastadion, 3âÂÂ0 to secure their place in the next round courtesy of a 6âÂÂ4 aggregate victory.
Their opponents in the second round were English team Ipswich Town. The first leg, at Ipswich's home ground Portman Road, was won 3âÂÂ0 by the English team. Brugge needed to score at least three goals to have any chance of staying in the competition. They won the second leg 4âÂÂ0, to win the tie 4âÂÂ3 on aggregate and progress to the third round.
Roma were the opposition in the third round. Brugge won the first leg in Belgium 1âÂÂ0 courtesy of a Julien Cools goal. Another 1âÂÂ0 in the second leg at Roma's home ground, the Stadio Olimpico meant Brugge progressed to the quarter-finals courtesy of a 2âÂÂ0 aggregate victory. Brugge were drawn against another Italian team, A.C. Milan in the quarter-finals. They won the first leg 2âÂÂ0 in Belgium thanks to goals from Ulrik le Fevre and Eduard Krieger. Brugge lost the second leg 2âÂÂ1, at Milan's home ground the San Siro, but still qualified for the semi-finals as a result of a 3âÂÂ2 aggregate victory.
Brugge's opposition in the semi-finals were German team Hamburger SV. The first leg, at Hamburg's home ground the Volksparkstadion, ended in a 1âÂÂ1 draw. This gave the advantage to Brugge, as they had an away goal. A 1âÂÂ0 victory in the second leg in Belgium secured a 2âÂÂ1 aggregate victory, which meant Brugge progressed to their first European final.
Liverpool were appearing in their second UEFA Cup final. They had previously won the competition in 1973 when they beat Borussia Mönchengladbach 3âÂÂ2. Club Brugge were appearing in their first European final and were the first Belgian team to reach the final of a European competition. The furthest they had progressed in previous European competitions was the quarter-finals of the 1970âÂÂ71 European Cup Winners' Cup, where they were beaten by eventual winners Chelsea of England.
Liverpool had won the 1975âÂÂ76 Football League First Division between the first and second legs of the UEFA Cup Final; a 3âÂÂ1 victory over Wolverhampton Wanderers on the final day of the league season ensured they became champions. As a result of their league success, Liverpool qualified for the 1976âÂÂ77 European Cup as English champions. Brugge had won the 1975âÂÂ76 Belgian First Division; they won the competition by four points from second-place Anderlecht. Their success meant that they would also be competing in next season's European Cup as Belgian champions.
Brugge started the match the better of the two sides and took the lead in the 5th minute. A headed back-pass by Phil Neal fell short of Liverpool goalkeeper Ray Clemence allowing Brugge midfielder Raoul Lambert to take control of the ball and lob it over Clemence and into the Liverpool goal. Seven minutes later Brugge extended their lead when Julien Cools scored. The Belgians kept attacking, but the Liverpool defence of Emlyn Hughes and Tommy Smith were able to repel the Belgians until half-time.
Liverpool manager Bob Paisley decided that a change to his team had to be made during the interval. Paisley decided to replace striker John Toshack with midfielder Jimmy Case. The change made a difference as Case's runs down the right hand side of the pitch unsettled the Belgians. The full effect came in the 59th minute when Liverpool scored; Steve Heighway passed to Ray Kennedy who scored from . Liverpool leveled the score two minutes later; a shot from Kennedy rebounded off the post to Case who scored from close range.
Three minutes later Liverpool were ahead; Heighway was upended in the penalty area, and Kevin Keegan scored the subsequent penalty to give Liverpool a 3âÂÂ2 lead. Liverpool had chances to increase their lead afterwards, but failed to do so; Brugge failed to score further as well. The final score when the referee blew for full-time was 3âÂÂ2.
Liverpool entered the second leg with a one-goal lead, although Brugge needed to score only one clear goal to win the competition by virtue of the away goals rule. The Belgians scored the goal they needed in the 11th minute. Liverpool defender Smith was adjudged to have handled the ball in the Liverpool penalty area and Brugge were awarded a penalty kick. Lambert converted the opportunity to give Brugge a 1âÂÂ0 lead and level the aggregate tie at 3âÂÂ3. Responding to the setback, Liverpool equalised four minutes later. They were awarded a free-kick outside the Brugge penalty area. Hughes rolled the ball to Keegan whose right-footed shot went into the Brugge goal to level the scores at 1âÂÂ1 and give Liverpool a 4âÂÂ3 aggregate lead. The goal incidentally was the first Brugge had conceded at home in the UEFA Cup all season.
Brugge needed to score again to keep the tie alive, and pushed their players forward in search of an equaliser. This forced Liverpool to pull all their players, except Keegan, into defensive positions to try to preserve their lead. Despite this Liverpool had a chance to take the lead in the 34th minute. Smith's volley from a Kennedy free-kick went wide of the Brugge goal. Brugge's pressure almost paid off five minutes into the second half. Ulrik le Fevre and Roger Van Gool combined to split the Liverpool defence, leaving Lambert with the ball. His subsequent shot beat Liverpool goalkeeper Clemence but hit the post. Brugge kept attacking in an effort to find the goal they needed; their best chance came four minutes from the end. Brugge breached the Liverpool defence, but Cools' shot was denied by a diving save from Clemence. No more goals were scored; the final score was 1âÂÂ1.
The second-leg draw meant Liverpool won the tie, 4âÂÂ3 on aggregate, to win their second UEFA Cup after their first victory in 1973. They also completed a League and UEFA Cup double for a second time. Liverpool manager Bob Paisley was delighted with players after their performance in the second leg: "The second half was the longest 45 minutes of my life. There was an awful lot of pride in this game because we came representing England. We did not let the country down and we are proud of our lads."