Alan Kennedy celebrates with the European Cup after scoring the winning goal in the 1981 final. Real Madrin and Liverpool are two of the most successful clubs in Europe, with long records of competitive involvement and 14 European Cup wins between them, yet before they were drawn to play each other on Wednesday in this season's Champions League last 16 they had met on just one previous occasion: the 1981 final in Paris.
Liverpool won 1–0, Alan Kennedy popping up to supply an unexpected late winner, and the European Cup stayed in English hands for a fifth successive season. Aston Villa would win it the following year, meaning that three English teams (the other was Nottingham Forest) shared in a period of unprecedented dominance by one league. The enormous trophy became such a frequent visitor to this country that when Phil Thompson got his hands on it he put it behind the bar at his local.
