Liverpool became the first British club to retain the European Cup when they beat Club Brugge 1–0 at Wembley on 10 May 1978. Kenny Dalglish scored the only goal, lifting the ball over Birger Jensen after Graeme Souness had found a route through the Belgian defence.
The opponents were familiar: Liverpool had beaten Brugge 4–3 on aggregate in the 1976 UEFA Cup final. This time the contest was settled in one match before 92,500 spectators, with Bob Paisley's side defending the trophy they had won in Rome a year earlier.
Brugge, managed by Ernst Happel, kept men behind the ball and made Liverpool work for an opening. Souness supplied the passes, while David Fairclough, selected ahead of Steve Heighway, occupied the defence with his running. Jimmy Case tested Jensen with a free-kick, and the goalkeeper also denied Fairclough before the interval.
The match remained goalless into the second half. A move involving Souness and Dalglish put Terry McDermott through, but Jensen again prevented the breakthrough. Paisley then introduced Heighway for Case.
Soon afterwards came the decisive pass. Souness found Dalglish inside the penalty area, and the forward chipped his finish over the advancing Jensen. In his first season at Liverpool, Dalglish had scored the goal that would retain the cup.
Brugge still threatened an equaliser. A defensive hesitation allowed Jan Sørensen through, forcing Ray Clemence off his line. When the ball came back towards the exposed goal, Phil Thompson cleared beside the post. The narrow lead survived.
The finish gave Dalglish the defining moment, but Souness's contribution ran through the match. Both the Guardian and Liverpool Daily Post's contemporary reports emphasised the quality of his passing; the Post named him its man of the match. The pass that released Dalglish was the most consequential of them.