Liverpool 1–0 Southampton: Toshack settles the Charity Shield
John Toshack's second-half goal gave Liverpool victory over FA Cup holders Southampton as Bob Paisley's side opened 1976–77 with another trophy.
Liverpool · Season reference
1976–77
A historical reference entry. Original long-form writing appears in Articles.
- Manager
- Bob Paisley
- League / division
- First Division
- League finish
- Champions
- Top scorer
- Kevin Keegan · 20 goalsAll competitive first-team matches
- Trophies won
- First DivisionEuropean CupCharity Shield
Season overview
Liverpool retained the First Division title and won the European Cup for the first time. Bob Paisley’s team finished one point above Manchester City, then beat Borussia Mönchengladbach 3–1 in Rome on 25 May. Terry McDermott, Tommy Smith and Phil Neal scored the goals that brought the European Cup to Anfield.
The FA Cup final had ended in a 2–1 defeat by Manchester United just four days before the victory in Rome. Liverpool also won the Charity Shield, beating Southampton 1–0, although West Bromwich Albion eliminated them in a League Cup second-round replay.
Kevin Keegan was the leading scorer with 20 goals in all competitions. David Johnson joined from Ipswich Town during the summer, while Alan Hansen was signed from Partick Thistle in May. In Europe, Liverpool overturned a first-leg defeat against Saint-Étienne with a 3–1 win at Anfield before beating Zürich in the semi-final.
Match reports
Explore 13 published reports from 1976–77, in match order.
Derby County 2–3 Liverpool: Keegan completes the recovery
Liverpool recovered from a half-time deficit at Derby, with John Toshack equalising before Kevin Keegan scored the winner ten minutes from time.
Saint-Étienne 1–0 Liverpool: Bathenay leaves Anfield with the deciding say
Dominique Bathenay's late goal gave Saint-Étienne a narrow first-leg advantage over a Liverpool side missing Kevin Keegan.
Liverpool 3–1 Saint-Étienne: Fairclough finds the goal Anfield needs
David Fairclough came off the bench to score the late winner that carried Liverpool past Saint-Étienne and into the European Cup semi-finals.
Liverpool 3–1 Leeds United: Fairclough makes his mark from the start
David Fairclough won a penalty and headed Liverpool's second goal as a 3–1 victory over Leeds strengthened the league title challenge.
Zürich 1–3 Liverpool: Neal and Heighway put Rome within reach
Phil Neal scored twice and Steve Heighway supplied a goal and won a penalty as Liverpool overturned Zürich's early lead in Switzerland.
Liverpool 3–0 Zürich: Case double opens the way to Rome
Jimmy Case scored twice and Kevin Keegan added a third as Liverpool completed a 6–1 aggregate win to reach their first European Cup final.
Liverpool 2–2 Everton: McDermott's chip and a disputed finish
Liverpool twice led Everton at Maine Road, but a four-goal semi-final ended with Bryan Hamilton's late effort disallowed and a replay required.
Liverpool 3–0 Everton: Neal sets the replay on course for Wembley
Phil Neal's first-half penalty and late goals from Jimmy Case and Ray Kennedy took Liverpool past Everton into the FA Cup final.
Liverpool 2–1 Ipswich Town: Kennedy and Keegan break the deadlock
Two second-half goals put Liverpool beyond Ipswich at Anfield and strengthened their position at the top of the First Division.
Liverpool 0–0 West Ham United: the point that secured a tenth title
A goalless draw with West Ham took Liverpool beyond Manchester City's reach and confirmed a second successive League championship.
Liverpool 1–2 Manchester United: the FA Cup ends the treble bid
Jimmy Case answered Stuart Pearson's opener, but Jimmy Greenhoff's deflection gave Manchester United the FA Cup and ended Liverpool's hopes of three trophies.
Liverpool 3–1 Borussia Mönchengladbach: the first European Cup
Goals from Terry McDermott, Tommy Smith and Phil Neal brought Liverpool their first European Cup, four days after defeat in the FA Cup final.
Domestic cups
- FA Cup
- Runners-up — lost 2–1 to Manchester United at Wembley.
- League Cup
- Second round — lost a replay 1–0 at West Bromwich Albion after a 1–1 home draw.
Europe
- European Cup
- Winners — beat Borussia Mönchengladbach 3–1 in Rome.
Other major competitions
- Charity Shield
- Winners — beat Southampton 1–0 at Wembley.
Key players
- Ray Clemence
- Emlyn Hughes
- Ray Kennedy
- Phil Neal
- Joey Jones
- Steve Heighway
- Kevin Keegan
- Ian Callaghan
- Jimmy Case
- Terry McDermott
- Tommy Smith
- David Fairclough
- John Toshack
- David Johnson
Transfers
Significant senior moves. Fees are included only where established reliably; summer arrivals are grouped with the campaign they joined.
Transfers in
- David JohnsonFrom Ipswich TownPermanent transfer
Joined in August 1976.
- Alan HansenFrom Partick ThistlePermanent transfer
Signed in May 1977; his first-team debut came the following season.
Transfers out
- Brian HallTo Plymouth ArgylePermanent transfer
Left in July 1976.
- Peter CormackTo Bristol CityPermanent transfer
Left in November 1976.
Important connections
Saint-Étienne overcome
A 3–1 win at Anfield overturned a 1–0 first-leg defeat in the European Cup quarter-final.
European champions
McDermott, Smith and Neal scored in a 3–1 final win over Borussia Mönchengladbach.
In the History Explorer
Bob Paisley · 1974–1983Related seasons
1975–76Sources & historical notes
Researched and checked 13 September 2026. These sources support this season’s statistics, transfers and historical account. Key players are an editorial selection.
- Liverpool FC: Bob Paisley, manager Manager from 1974 to 1983; first-season runners-up finish, the 1976 double, 1977 European Cup and 1979 league record.
- RSSSF: Football League 1976-77 Final First Division standings, points, wins, draws, defeats and goals for and against.
- LFChistory: 1976-77 results Competitive fixture dates, scores, venues and cup rounds; supports the competition results and dated match events.
- LFChistory: 1976-77 goalscorers Leading competitive scorer and goals by competition, excluding friendlies.
- LFChistory: 1976-77 transfers Listed incoming and outgoing transfers, clubs and chronology. Summer moves follow the incoming-campaign convention.
- LFChistory: 1976-77 appearances First-team involvement supporting the editorial key-player selection.
- Liverpool FC: European Cup First win on 25 May 1977, 3–1 against Borussia Mönchengladbach with McDermott, Smith and Neal scoring; retained on 10 May 1978 through Dalglish against Club Brugge.
- Liverpool FC: Charity and Community Shield Outright winners in 1974 and 1976; shared with Manchester United in 1977. The club attributes the 1974 match to Paisley.
- Liverpool FC: David Johnson Signed from Ipswich Town in summer 1976; part of the league and European Cup winning squad.
- Liverpool FC: Alan Hansen His first-team debut was in September 1977, after the campaign in which he signed.
- 11v11: Liverpool players, 1976-77 Independent corroboration of Kevin Keegan as leading scorer with 20 competitive goals. Other player totals are not used.
Notes on the record
Hansen’s May 1977 signing remains in this campaign because competitive matches were still being played. He is not listed as a key player before his debut. Keegan’s June 1977 move to Hamburg is allocated to 1977–78 and is not duplicated here.
Overview evidence: paragraph 1 — rsssf-league, lfc-paisley, lfc-europe and lfch-games; paragraph 2 — lfch-games, lfc-paisley and lfc-shield; paragraph 3 — lfch-scorers, lfch-transfers, lfc-johnson and lfch-games.
11v11 agrees on the leading scorer but differs from LFChistory on some other player totals. Those disputed figures are not published; 11v11 is used only to corroborate the leading scorer.