Liverpool face a tough task tonight, trying to prevent Spanish side Sevilla claiming their third Europa League final in a row.
But the Merseyside club have plenty of their own history in the competition – with three previous victories behind them.
In Basel this evening Jurgen Klopp and his men will be hoping to add another memory to these historic victories.
1973 Liverpool 3-2 Borussia Mönchengladbach (on aggregate)
The two-leg UEFA Cup final got off to an inauspicious start. The first leg in Anfield was called off after 27 minutes due to bad weather and was played the following day. Kevin Keegan scored a brace to help Bill Shankly’s Reds to a 3-0 lead.
Mönchengladbach didn’t give up, scoring twice in the first half of the return leg to cut the deficit to one. But they were unable to find the third goal they needed and Liverpool won the final 3–2 on aggregate to claim their first European trophy.
Video from muzzam83.
Road to the final (scores on aggregate)
1st Round Liverpool 2-0 Eintracht Frankfurt
2nd Round Liverpool 6-1 AEK Athens
3rd Round Liverpool 3-1 Dynamo Berlin
Quarter-final Liverpool 3-0 Dynamo Dresden
Semi-final Liverpool 2-2 Tottenham Hotspur (Liverpool win on away goals)
1973. Bill Shankly of Liverpool with the UEFA Cup pic.twitter.com/eR8k0DQY6l
— The League Magazine (@Theleaguemag) May 15, 2016
1976 Liverpool 4-3 Club Brugge (on aggregate)
The Reds came from behind in both legs against Club Brugge to win their second UEFA Cup in 1976. They went 1-0 down at Anfield but scored three goals in the space of seven second-half minutes to reestablish dominance. The opposition also scored first in Bruges, but Kevin Keegan popped up again to ensure Liverpool lifted the trophy.
The side that won was largely the same squad that would go on to win the European Cup for the next two years running.
Video from muzzam83.
Road to the final (scores on aggregate)
1st Round Liverpool 3-2 Hibernian
2nd Round Liverpool 9-1 Real Sociedad
3rd Round Liverpool 5-1 Slask Wroclaw
Quarter-final Liverpool 2-1 Dynamo Dresden
Semi-final Liverpool 2-1 Barcelona
Liverpool's Kevin Keegan celebrates in front of The Kop in the UEFA Cup against Barcelona 1976 pic.twitter.com/jBHTn2SqoF
— VintageFooty (@VintageFooty) March 18, 2016
2001 Liverpool 5-4 Alavés (after extra-time)
In 2001, Gérard Houllier’s Liverpool were 2-0 up inside 20 minutes – and 3-1 up by the break. But Alavés fought back to make it a classic final, with Jordi Cruyff’s late strike taking the Reds to extra time at 4-4. Alavés went down to nine men before an own goal from Delfí Geli won it for Liverpool after 116 minutes.
Video from UEFA.tv.
Road to the final (scores on aggregate)
1st Round Liverpool 1-0 Rapid București
2nd Round Liverpool 4-2 Slovan Liberec
3rd Round Liverpool 4-2 Olympiacos
4th Round Liverpool 2-1 Roma
Quarter-final Liverpool 2-0 Porto
Semi-final Liverpool 1-0 Barcelona
#OnThisDay in 2001, Liverpool beat Spanish surprise package Alavés 5-4 after an epic UEFA Cup final. #UELfinal pic.twitter.com/OKc3xGBOEJ
— UEFA Europa League (@EuropaLeague) May 16, 2016
“It was arguably the most exciting European final ever – until Istanbul,” Gary McAllister said later.
“I thought the way we started we were going to win very comfortably. Credit to them though – they came back and it was maybe a bit cruel on them to lose.”
Cruel or not, the win meant Liverpool equalled the record for UEFA Cup wins, joining Juventus and Inter Milan on three apiece.
When Sevilla won their second final in a row last year, and fourth in nine years, they went out in front as the only club to win this competition four times.
To join Sevilla on four Liverpool must beat them tonight – and one other statistic may help give them hope.
The last English club to beat a Spanish club in a European final was Liverpool vs Alaves in 2001.
— The Anfield Talk (@TheAnfieldTalk) May 18, 2016
