1980–81 Liverpool F.C. season explained
| Club: | Liverpool |
| Season: | 1980–81 |
| Manager: | Bob Paisley |
| League: | First Division |
| League Result: | 5th |
| League Topscorer: | Terry McDermott (13) |
| Season Topscorer: | Terry McDermott (22) |
| Cup4: | European Cup |
| Cup4 Result: | Winners |
| Cup1: | FA Cup |
| Cup1 Result: | Fourth round |
| Cup2: | League Cup |
| Cup2 Result: | Winners |
| Cup3: | FA Charity Shield |
| Cup3 Result: | Winners |
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| Prevseason: | 1979–80 |
| Nextseason: | 1981–82 |
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
Defenders
Midfielders
Forwards
Squad statistics
Appearances and goals
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Results
First Division
| Date | Opponents | Venue | Result | Scorers | Attendance | Report 1 | Report 2 |
|---|
| 16-Aug-80 | | H | 3–0 | Dalglish 25', R. Kennedy 32', A. Kennedy 83' | 42,777 | Report | Report |
| 19-Aug-80 | | A | 0–0 | | 22,807 | Report | Report |
| 23-Aug-80 | | A | 0–2 | | 28,455 | Report | Report |
| 30-Aug-80 | | H | 4–1 | Hansen 44', McDermott 65', A. Kennedy 72', Johnson 87' | 35,315 | Report | Report |
| 06-Sep-80 | | A | 1–1 | Dalglish 49' | 27,042 | Report | Report |
| 13-Sep-80 | | H | 4–0 | McDermott 27' (pen.), Souness 44', Fairclough (2) 67', 71' | 36,792 | Report | Report |
| 20-Sep-80 | | A | 2–2 | Souness 8', Fairclough 56' | 24,085 | Report | Report |
| 27-Sep-80 | | H | 4–1 | Souness (2) 37', 57', McDermott 56' (pen.), Fairclough 83' | 35,836 | Report | Report |
| 04-Oct-80 | | A | 3–0 | Dalglish 38', Souness 52', Lee 83' | 41,022 | Report | Report |
| 07-Oct-80 | | H | 4–2 | McDermott (2) 1', 79' (pen.), R. Kennedy 61', Dalglish 86' | 28,204 | Report | Report |
| 11-Oct-80 | | H | 1–1 | McDermott 39' (pen.) | 48,084 | Report | Report |
| 18-Oct-80 | | A | 2–2 | Lee 23', Dalglish 56' | 52,565 | Report | Report |
| 25-Oct-80 | | H | 1–1 | Souness 48' | 40,310 | Report | Report |
| 01-Nov-80 | | A | 2–2 | Johnson 24', Dalglish 79' | 22,864 | Report | Report |
| 08-Nov-80 | | H | 0–0 | | 43,143 | Report | Report |
| 11-Nov-80 | | H | 2–1 | Johnson (2) 28', 80' | 26,744 | Report | Report |
| 15-Nov-80 | | A | 2–2 | R. Kennedy 45', McDermott 77' | 31,154 | Report | Report |
| 22-Nov-80 | | H | 2–1 | Dalglish 66', 88' | 48,114 | Report | Report |
| 25-Nov-80 | | A | 1–4 | Neal 44' | 25,497 | Report | Report |
| 29-Nov-80 | | A | 4–2 | Johnson 14', McDermott 35', Lee (2) 82', 84' | 32,340 | Report | Report |
| 06-Dec-80 | | H | 2–1 | Johnson 19', R. Kennedy 59' | 39,545 | Report | Report |
| 13-Dec-80 | | A | 1–1 | Case 61' | 32,274 | Report | Report |
| 20-Dec-80 | | H | 1–0 | R. Kennedy 33' | 33,563 | Report | Report |
| 26-Dec-80 | | A | 0–0 | | 57,073 | Report | Report |
| 27-Dec-80 | | H | 0–0 | | 44,086 | Report | Report |
| 10-Jan-81 | | A | 0–2 | | 47,960 | Report | Report |
| 17-Jan-81 | | A | 1–0 | McDermott 23' | 23,829 | Report | Report |
| 31-Jan-81 | | H | 1–2 | Young o.g. 15' | 35,154 | Report | Report |
| 07-Feb-81 | | A | 0–2 | | 27,905 | Report | Report |
| 14-Feb-81 | | H | 2–2 | Johnson 25', Neal 33' | 32,199 | Report | Report |
| 21-Feb-81 | | A | 2–2 | Johnson 27', McDermott 65' | 23,275 | Report | Report |
| 28-Feb-81 | | H | 2–0 | R. Kennedy 13', McDermott 60' | 41,575 | Report | Report |
| 21-Mar-81 | | H | 1–0 | Bailey o.g. 77' | 49,743 | Report | Report |
| 28-Mar-81 | | A | 0–1 | | 47,058 | Report | Report |
| 03-Apr-81 | | H | 3–0 | Whelan 27', McDermott (2) 52', 81' | 33,308 | Report | Report |
| 11-Apr-81 | | A | 0–0 | | 27,363 | Report | Report |
| 14-Apr-81 | | H | 0–1 | | 31,276 | Report | Report |
| 18-Apr-81 | | A | 0–0 | | 39,206 | Report | Report |
| 25-Apr-81 | | A | 1–1 | Gayle 25' | 35,334 | Report | Report |
| 02-May-81 | | H | 0–1 | | 40,337 | Report | Report |
| 05-May-81 | | A | 2–1 | R. Kennedy 7', Irwin 28' | 19,102 | Report | Report |
| 19-May-81 | | H | 1–0 | R. Kennedy 16' | 24,462 | Report | Report | |
FA Charity Shield
See main article: 1980 FA Charity Shield.
| width=50% valign=top | Match rules- 90 minutes, no extra time
- Five named substitutes
- Maximum of three substitutions
| |
FA Cup
See main article: 1980–81 FA Cup.
League Cup
See main article: 1980–81 Football League Cup.
| Date | Opponents | Venue | Result | Scorers | Attendance | Report 1 | Report 2 |
|---|
| 27-Aug-80 | | A | 0–1 | | 16,232. | Report | Report |
| 02-Sep-80 | | H | 4–0 | Dalglish (2) 9', 36', R. Kennedy 34', Johnson 59' | 22,807 | Report | Report |
| 23-Sep-80 | | H | 5–0 | Lee (2) 7', 85', Dalglish 17', Cockerill o.g. 75', Fairclough 80' | 28,455 | Report | Report |
| 28-Oct-80 | | H | 4–1 | Dalglish 22', Johnson (2) 39', 80', Souness 85' | 35,836 | Report | Report |
| 02-Dec-80 | | H | 3–1 | Dalglish 23', McDermott 66', Johnson 85' | 35,315 | Report | Report |
| 14-Jan-81 | | A | 1–0 | R. Kennedy 81' | 27,042 | Report | Report |
| 10-Feb-81 | | H | 1–1 | Dalglish 23' | 36,792 | Report | Report | |
League Cup final
League Cup final replay
European Cup
See main article: 1980–81 European Cup.
| Date | Opponents | Venue | Result | Scorers | Attendance | Report 1 | Report 2 |
|---|
| 17-Sep-80 | | A | 1–1 | McDermott 15' | 14,000 | Report | Report |
| 01-Oct-80 | | 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 | | A | 1–0 | McDermott 5' | 24,000 | Report | Report |
| 05-Nov-80 | | H | 4–0 | Miller o.g. 37', Neal 43', Dalglish 58', Hansen 71' | 36,182 | Report | Report |
| 04-Mar-81 | | H | 5–1 | Souness (3) 16', 51', 80', Lee 45', McDermott 62' | 37,255 | Report | Report |
| 18-Mar-81 | | A | 1–0 | Johnson 10' | 65,000 | Report | Report |
| 08-Apr-81 | | H | 0–0 | | 44,543 | Report | Report |
| 22-Apr-81 | | A | 1–1 | R. Kennedy 83' | 77,600 | Report | Report | |
European Cup final
See main article: 1981 European Cup final.
References
Kevin Sheedy
