The 1980–81 season was Liverpool Football Club's 89th season in existence and their 19th consecutive season in the First Division. It was a season of contrasts for Liverpool as they won the European Cup for the third time by defeating Real Madrid 1–0 in Paris, and winning the Football League Cup for the first time by defeating that season's Second Division champions West Ham United after a replay at Villa Park. They also beat West Ham in the Charity Shield.
The Football League season, however, turned out to be a big disappointment after successive titles in previous seasons, by only finishing fifth, and then losing to Everton in the Fourth Round of the FA Cup. It was to be the last season for a few players, and with Bob Paisley looking to the future bringing in players who would go on to feature regularly for the club for the rest of the decade and even the 1990s.
Squad Goalkeepers Ray Clemence Steve Ogrizovic Bruce Grobbelaar
Defenders Avi Cohen Colin Irwin Phil Neal Alan Hansen Phil Thompson Alan Kennedy Richard Money
Midfielders Jimmy Case Steve Heighway Sammy Lee Ray Kennedy Terry McDermott Kevin Sheedy Graeme Souness Ronnie Whelan
Forwards
Kenny Dalglish Howard Gayle David Johnson Ian Rush Colin Russell Squad statistics Appearances and goals
League table
Results First Division
DateOpponentsVenueResultScorersAttendanceReport 1Report 2 16-Aug-80 Crystal Palace H 3–0 Dalglish 25', R. Kennedy 32', A. Kennedy 83' 42,777 Report Report 19-Aug-80 Coventry City A 0–0 22,807 Report Report 23-Aug-80 Leicester City A 0–2 28,455 Report Report 30-Aug-80 Norwich City H 4–1 Hansen 44', McDermott 65', A. Kennedy 72', Johnson 87' 35,315 Report Report 06-Sep-80 Birmingham City A 1–1 Dalglish 49' 27,042 Report Report 13-Sep-80 West Bromwich Albion H 4–0 McDermott 27' (pen.), Souness 44', Fairclough (2) 67', 71' 36,792 Report Report 20-Sep-80 Southampton A 2–2 Souness 8', Fairclough 56' 24,085 Report Report 27-Sep-80 Brighton & Hove Albion H 4–1 Souness (2) 37', 57', McDermott 56' (pen.), Fairclough 83' 35,836 Report Report 04-Oct-80 Manchester City A 3–0 Dalglish 38', Souness 52', Lee 83' 41,022 Report Report 07-Oct-80 Middlesbrough H 4–2 McDermott (2) 1', 79' (pen.), R. Kennedy 61', Dalglish 86' 28,204 Report Report 11-Oct-80 Ipswich Town H 1–1 McDermott 39' (pen.) 48,084 Report Report 18-Oct-80 Everton A 2–2 Lee 23', Dalglish 56' 52,565 Report Report 25-Oct-80 Arsenal H 1–1 Souness 48' 40,310 Report Report 01-Nov-80 Stoke City A 2–2 Johnson 24', Dalglish 79' 22,864 Report Report 08-Nov-80 Nottingham Forest H 0–0 43,143 Report Report 11-Nov-80 Coventry City H 2–1 Johnson (2) 28', 80' 26,744 Report Report 15-Nov-80 Crystal Palace A 2–2 R. Kennedy 45', McDermott 77' 31,154 Report Report 22-Nov-80 Aston Villa H 2–1 Dalglish 66', 88' 48,114 Report Report 25-Nov-80 Wolverhampton Wanderers A 1–4 Neal 44' 25,497 Report Report 29-Nov-80 Sunderland A 4–2 Johnson 14', McDermott 35', Lee (2) 82', 84' 32,340 Report Report 06-Dec-80 Tottenham Hotspur H 2–1 Johnson 19', R. Kennedy 59' 39,545 Report Report 13-Dec-80 Ipswich Town A 1–1 Case 61' 32,274 Report Report 20-Dec-80 Wolverhampton Wanderers H 1–0 R. Kennedy 33' 33,563 Report Report 26-Dec-80 Manchester United A 0–0 57,073 Report Report 27-Dec-80 Leeds United H 0–0 44,086 Report Report 10-Jan-81 Aston Villa A 0–2 47,960 Report Report 17-Jan-81 Norwich City A 1–0 McDermott 23' 23,829 Report Report 31-Jan-81 Leicester City H 1–2 Young o.g. 15' 35,154 Report Report 07-Feb-81 West Bromwich Albion A 0–2 27,905 Report Report 14-Feb-81 Birmingham City H 2–2 Johnson 25', Neal 33' 32,199 Report Report 21-Feb-81 Brighton & Hove Albion A 2–2 Johnson 27', McDermott 65' 23,275 Report Report 28-Feb-81 Southampton H 2–0 R. Kennedy 13', McDermott 60' 41,575 Report Report 21-Mar-81 Everton H 1–0 Bailey o.g. 77' 49,743 Report Report 28-Mar-81 Arsenal A 0–1 47,058 Report Report 03-Apr-81 Stoke City H 3–0 Whelan 27', McDermott (2) 52', 81' 33,308 Report Report 11-Apr-81 Nottingham Forest A 0–0 27,363 Report Report 14-Apr-81 Manchester United H 0–1 31,276 Report Report 18-Apr-81 Leeds United A 0–0 39,206 Report Report 25-Apr-81 Tottenham Hotspur A 1–1 Gayle 25' 35,334 Report Report 02-May-81 Sunderland H 0–1 40,337 Report Report 05-May-81 Middlesbrough A 2–1 R. Kennedy 7', Irwin 28' 19,102 Report Report 19-May-81 Manchester City H 1–0 R. Kennedy 16' 24,462 Report Report
FA Charity Shield
Liverpool: GK 1 Ray ClemenceDF 2 Phil NealDF 3 Alan KennedyDF 4 Phil Thompson (c)MF 5 Ray KennedyDF 6 Alan HansenFW 7 Kenny DalglishMF 8 Jimmy CaseFW 9 David JohnsonMF 10 Terry McDermottMF 11 Graeme SounessManager: Bob PaisleyWest Ham United GK 1 Phil ParkesDF 2 Ray StewartDF 3 Paul BrushDF 4 Billy BondsDF 5 Alvin MartinMF 6 Alan DevonshireMF 7 Paul AllenFW 8 Pat HollandFW 9 David CrossFW 10 Trevor Brooking MF 11 Geoff PikeSubstitutes:FW 12 Nicky Morgan Manager: John Lyall Match rules 90 minutes, no extra time Five named substitutes Maximum of three substitutions
FA Cup
DateOpponentsVenueResultScorersAttendanceReport 1Report 2 03-Jan-81 Altrincham H 4–1 McDermott 27', Dalglish (2) 39', 54', R. Kennedy 88' 37,170 Report Report 24-Jan-81 Everton A 1–2 Case 76' 53,804 Report Report
League Cup
DateOpponentsVenueResultScorersAttendanceReport 1Report 2 27-Aug-80 Bradford City A 0–1 16,232. Report Report 02-Sep-80 Bradford City H 4–0 Dalglish (2) 9', 36', R. Kennedy 34', Johnson 59' 22,807 Report Report 23-Sep-80 Swindon Town H 5–0 Lee (2) 7', 85', Dalglish 17', Cockerill o.g. 75', Fairclough 80' 28,455 Report Report 28-Oct-80 Portsmouth H 4–1 Dalglish 22', Johnson (2) 39', 80', Souness 85' 35,836 Report Report 02-Dec-80 Birmingham City H 3–1 Dalglish 23', McDermott 66', Johnson 85' 35,315 Report Report 14-Jan-81 Manchester City A 1–0 R. Kennedy 81' 27,042 Report Report 10-Feb-81 Manchester City H 1–1 Dalglish 23' 36,792 Report Report
League Cup final
1 Ray Clemence 2 Phil Neal (c) 3 Alan Kennedy 4 Colin Irwin 5 Ray Kennedy 6 Alan Hansen 7 Kenny Dalglish 8 Sammy Lee 9 Steve Heighway 10 Terry McDermott 11 Graeme SounessSubstitute: 12 Jimmy Case Manager: Bob Paisley 1 Phil Parkes 2 Ray Stewart 3 Frank Lampard Sr. 4 Billy Bonds (c) 5 Alvin Martin 6 Alan Devonshire 7 Jimmy Neighbour 8 Paul Goddard 9 David Cross 10 Trevor Brooking 11 Geoff PikeSubstitute: 12 Stuart Pearson Manager: John Lyall
League Cup final replay
1 Ray Clemence 2 Phil Neal 3 Alan Kennedy 4 Phil Thompson (c) 5 Ray Kennedy 6 Alan Hansen 7 Kenny Dalglish 8 Sammy Lee 9 Ian Rush 10 Terry McDermott 11 Jimmy CaseSubstitute: 12 Colin IrwinManager: Bob Paisley 1 Phil Parkes 2 Ray Stewart 3 Frank Lampard Sr. 4 Billy Bonds (c) 5 Alvin Martin 6 Alan Devonshire 7 Jimmy Neighbour 8 Paul Goddard 9 David Cross 10 Trevor Brooking 11 Geoff PikeSubstitute: 12 Stuart PearsonManager: John Lyall
European Cup
DateOpponentsVenueResultScorersAttendanceReport 1Report 2 17-Sep-80 Oulu Palloseura A 1–1 McDermott 15' 14,000 Report Report 01-Oct-80 Oulu Palloseura H 10–1 Souness (3) 5', 24', 52' (pen.), McDermott (3) 15', 41', 83', Lee 53', R. Kennedy 66', Fairclough (2) 68', 81' 21,013 Report Report 22-Oct-80 Aberdeen A 1–0 McDermott 5' 24,000 Report Report 05-Nov-80 Aberdeen H 4–0 Miller o.g. 37', Neal 43', Dalglish 58', Hansen 71' 36,182 Report Report 04-Mar-81 CSKA Sofia H 5–1 Souness (3) 16', 51', 80', Lee 45', McDermott 62' 37,255 Report Report 18-Mar-81 CSKA Sofia A 1–0 Johnson 10' 65,000 Report Report 08-Apr-81 Bayern Munich H 0–0 44,543 Report Report 22-Apr-81 Bayern Munich A 1–1 R. Kennedy 83' 77,600 Report Report
European Cup final
GK 1 Agustín RodríguezDF 2 Rafael García Cortés DF 3 José Antonio CamachoMF 4 Uli Stielike DF 5 Andrés SabidoMF 6 Vicente del BosqueFW 7 JuanitoMF 8 Ángel de los SantosFW 9 Santillana (c)DF 10 Antonio García NavajasFW 11 Laurie CunninghamSubstitutes:GK Miguel Ángel GonzálezDF Isidoro San JoséMF ÁngelMF García HernándezMF 16 Francisco Pineda Manager: Vujadin Boškov GK 1 Ray ClemenceRB 2 Phil NealLB 3 Alan KennedyCB 4 Phil Thompson (c)LM 5 Ray Kennedy CB 6 Alan HansenCF 7 Kenny Dalglish RM 8 Sammy LeeCF 9 David JohnsonCM 10 Terry McDermottCM 11 Graeme SounessSubstitutes:MF 12 Jimmy Case GK 13 Steve OgrizovicDF 14 Colin IrwinDF 15 Richard MoneyFW 16 Howard GayleManager: Bob Paisley
References
LFC History.net – Games for the 1980–81 season Liverweb - Games for the 1980–81 season