Liverpool vs Borussia Monchengladbach - 1973

The 1973 UEFA Cup Final - There had been heavy rain in Liverpool in the week before the first leg, nevertheless, Austrian referee Erich Linemayr decided that the first leg on 9 May would still go ahead. Minutes into the match it was apparent that the conditions were unplayable, the rain had intensified following the kick-off and the players were unable to pass the ball to each other. The referee took the decision to abandon the game after 27 minutes with the match to be played the next day.

The 27 minutes that had been played the previous day had given Liverpool manager Bill Shankly an insight into how to beat Borussia. He noted that defender Günter Netzer was suspect in the air, to exploit this he decided to omit Brian Hall in place of John Toshack, whom Shankly believed would exploit this weakness.

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.