Liverpool 1–0 West Ham United: McDermott retains the Charity Shield
Terry McDermott took the chance from a parried shot to settle the Charity Shield against West Ham United at Wembley.
Liverpool · Season reference
1980–81
A historical reference entry. Original long-form writing appears in Articles.
- Manager
- Bob Paisley
- League / division
- First Division
- League finish
- 5th
- Top scorer
- Terry McDermott · 22 goalsAll competitive first-team matches
- Trophies won
- Charity ShieldLeague CupEuropean Cup
Season overview
Liverpool finished fifth in the First Division, nine points behind champions Aston Villa, but won the European Cup and League Cup under Bob Paisley. Alan Kennedy scored the only goal against Real Madrid in Paris to secure the club’s third European Cup.
The League Cup was a first for Liverpool. After drawing 1–1 with West Ham United at Wembley, they won the replay 2–1 at Villa Park through Kenny Dalglish and Alan Hansen. West Ham had also been beaten in the Charity Shield, while Everton ended Liverpool’s FA Cup run in the fourth round.
Terry McDermott finished as leading scorer with 22 competitive goals, including one in the Shield. Bruce Grobbelaar arrived from Vancouver Whitecaps and Craig Johnston from Middlesbrough during the spring, while Steve Heighway left for Minnesota Kicks. Grobbelaar’s competitive debut would follow in the next campaign.
Match reports
Explore 10 published reports from 1980–81, in match order.
Liverpool 10–1 Oulu: Souness and McDermott share six goals
Hat-tricks from Graeme Souness and Terry McDermott helped Liverpool turn a level tie into an 11–2 aggregate victory.
Aberdeen 0–1 Liverpool: McDermott gives Liverpool the advantage
Terry McDermott scored after five minutes at Pittodrie as Liverpool took a one-goal lead back to Anfield.
Liverpool 4–0 Aberdeen: Cohen helps open the way
Avi Cohen's arrival helped Liverpool break through against Aberdeen before Phil Neal, Kenny Dalglish and Alan Hansen completed a 5–0 aggregate win.
Liverpool 5–1 CSKA Sofia: Souness strikes three times
Graeme Souness scored his second hat-trick of the European campaign as Liverpool established a four-goal lead over CSKA Sofia.
Liverpool 1–1 West Ham: two late goals send the final to a replay
Alan Kennedy scored in the 118th minute, but Ray Stewart answered from the penalty spot to keep the League Cup final unresolved.
Liverpool 2–1 West Ham: the first League Cup
Kenny Dalglish and Alan Hansen overturned West Ham’s early lead at Villa Park to give Liverpool their first League Cup.
Liverpool 0–0 Bayern Munich: Junghans keeps the semi-final level
Walter Junghans twice denied Kenny Dalglish and Kurt Niedermayer hit the crossbar as Liverpool and Bayern drew the opening leg.
Bayern Munich 1–1 Liverpool: Ray Kennedy takes Liverpool to Paris
Ray Kennedy’s late away goal took an injury-hit Liverpool through to the European Cup final despite Bayern’s equaliser.
Liverpool 1–0 Real Madrid: Alan Kennedy wins the third European Cup
Alan Kennedy’s late goal settled the Paris final and brought Liverpool their third European Cup under Bob Paisley.
Domestic cups
- FA Cup
- Fourth round — lost 2–1 away to Everton.
- League Cup
- Winners — beat West Ham United 2–1 in the Villa Park replay after a 1–1 draw.
Europe
- European Cup
- Winners — beat Real Madrid 1–0 in Paris.
Other major competitions
- Charity Shield
- Winners — beat West Ham United 1–0 at Wembley.
Key players
- Terry McDermott
- Phil Neal
- Ray Kennedy
- Ray Clemence
- Sammy Lee
- Graeme Souness
- Kenny Dalglish
- Alan Hansen
- Alan Kennedy
Transfers
Significant senior moves. Fees are included only where established reliably; summer arrivals are grouped with the campaign they joined.
Transfers in
- Bruce GrobbelaarFrom Vancouver WhitecapsPermanent transfer
Joined in March 1981.
- Craig JohnstonFrom MiddlesbroughPermanent transfer
Joined in April 1981.
Transfers out
- Steve HeighwayTo Minnesota KicksFree transfer
Left in April 1981.
Important connections
Ten goals at Anfield
Liverpool beat Oulu Palloseura 10–1 in the European Cup first round.
In the History Explorer
Bob Paisley · 1974–1983Related seasons
1979–80Sources & 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; the 1980 title, 1981 European Cup and final-season league and League Cup double.
- RSSSF: Football League 1980-81 Final division, position and points; home and away league records.
- LFChistory: 1980-81 games Competitive fixtures, dates, scores, cup stages and venues; aggregate scores calculated from the two legs.
- LFChistory: 1980-81 goalscorers All-competitive goalscorers, including the Charity Shield and excluding friendlies.
- LFChistory: 1980-81 transfers Transfer clubs, type and dates for the selected senior moves.
- LFChistory: 1980-81 appearances Competitive first-team involvement supporting the editorial key-player selection.
- Liverpool FC: League Cup First four wins, 1981–84; final and replay scores, dates, venues, extra time and named goalscorers.
- Liverpool FC: European Cup 1981 final: Alan Kennedy scored in a 1–0 win over Real Madrid in Paris on 27 May. 1984 final: 1–1 with Roma in Rome on 30 May; Liverpool won 4–2 on penalties, Alan Kennedy scoring the decisive kick.
- 11v11: Liverpool players, 1980–81 Corroborates McDermott’s leading total of 22 competitive goals; other totals are not used.
- Liverpool FC: Bruce Grobbelaar Signed from Vancouver Whitecaps in March 1981; competitive debut followed in August 1981.
Notes on the record
Overview evidence: paragraph 1 — rsssf-league, lfc-paisley and lfc-europe; paragraph 2 — lfc-league-cup and lfch-games; paragraph 3 — lfch-scorers, afv-scorer, lfch-transfers and lfc-grobbelaar.
McDermott’s 22 includes the Charity Shield; 21 excludes it. 11v11 corroborates his total but disagrees with LFChistory on other players, including the Kennedys and Neal. Those disputed scoring figures are omitted.
Ray Clemence’s and Jimmy Case’s August 1981 departures belong to 1981–82. Spring arrivals Grobbelaar and Johnston remain here but are not key-player selections for this campaign.