John Toshack scored after thirteen minutes. Barcelona had the rest of the evening to answer him and could not.

Liverpool’s 1–0 victory at Camp Nou on 30 March 1976 made them the first English club to win there against Barcelona. It also gave Bob Paisley a narrow but valuable advantage in a UEFA Cup semi-final against a side containing Johan Cruyff and Johan Neeskens.

The winning move involved three familiar Liverpool names. Ray Clemence sent the ball forward, Kevin Keegan supplied the touch and Toshack finished. Recalling the goal in a 2019 interview with the Spanish newspaper AS, Toshack described a sequence the partnership had repeated throughout their time together. On this occasion, it had beaten Barcelona on their own ground.

Toshack was playing in a white Liverpool shirt. More than forty years later, that detail remained vivid in his recollection, alongside the goal itself. This was his first appearance at Camp Nou as a player, and it would be his only one.

Liverpool reached half-time ahead and preserved the lead through the second half. Paisley replaced Jimmy Case with Brian Hall after seventy minutes. There was no further scoring: the early goal and a clean sheet were enough to take a winning position back to Anfield.

The return on 14 April showed how much work remained. Phil Thompson put Liverpool ahead shortly after half-time, extending the aggregate lead to two goals, but Cruyff set up Charly Rexach to equalise on the night. One more Barcelona goal would have eliminated Liverpool on away goals.

Liverpool kept looking for a second goal of their own. It did not arrive, but neither did Barcelona’s. The 1–1 draw completed a 2–1 aggregate victory and sent Paisley’s side into the final against Club Brugge.

They would win that tie too, adding the UEFA Cup to the league championship in May. The campaign had delivered Paisley’s first league title and his first European trophy as Liverpool manager.

A reminder of the Barcelona semi-final later entered the club’s museum: the opposition shirt Tommy Smith had exchanged after the Anfield leg. Liverpool bought it from his memorabilia collection in 2012. The object came from the night the tie was completed; the advantage had been earned a fortnight earlier, when Toshack scored and Liverpool kept Barcelona out.

Sources