The 7 most historic Liverpool victories at Anfield in the Europa League

Liverpool have their sights set on the Europa League in 2023-24, so we’ve taken a look at some of their most memorable wins at Anfield in the competition.

The Reds have won the Europa League/ UEFA Cup three times in their history. They last lifted the trophy in 2001 under Gerard Houlier – in a season where they also won the FA Cup, League Cup and FA Charity Shield.

It’s not quite the Champions League football they’re used to, but the Europa League provides stiff competition, an increasing level of quality and a brilliant chance to lift a European trophy. Let’s take a look at those special victories.

Liverpool 3-0 Borussia Monchengladbach (1973)

Liverpool first won the UEFA Cup in 1973 – a defining moment in the club’s history. Back then, the final was played over two legs and they faced a formidable opponent in Borussia Monchengladbach.

The first leg was played at Anfield and the Red’s iconic trio of Kevin Keegan, John Toshack, and Steve Heighway put on a fantastic attacking display. 

Keegan, who scored 100 goals during his time with Liverpool, scored twice in the first half and a Larry Lloyd header gave them a 3-0 lead ahead of the second leg.

They lost 2-0 to Monchengladbach in West Germany but Bill Shankly’s team hung on to claim Liverpool’s first European trophy in their history, a key triumph to set up their European success throughout the 70s and 80s.

Liverpool 3-2 Club Brugge (1976)

Three years later, Liverpool faced Belgian giants Club Brugge in another two-legged UEFA Cup final, with the first being played at Anfield once again.

Bob Paisley’s team found themselves 2-0 down after the first half but fought back to win 3-2 after scoring a memorable three goals in just seven minutes.

Ray Kennedy rattled in a thunderbolt with his left foot to get Liverpool back into the game before Jimmy Case bundled in an equalizer.

Then, it was Kevin Keegan once again who got on the scoresheet – netting a penalty in the 64th minute.

The second leg saw Liverpool hold onto their one-goal advantage, with the game finishing 1-1 in Monchengladbach. Liverpool went on to win the European Cup four times in the next eight years.

Liverpool 3-0 Auxerre (1991)

After a six-year ban from European competitions, Liverpool found themselves playing in the UEFA Cup once again in 1991 and had a point to prove.

The Reds faced Auxerre in the second round. They lost the first leg 2-0 in France, returning to Anfield with something of a mountain to climb.

Graeme Souness’ side produced an incredible comeback, with goals from Jan Molby, Mike Marsh, and Mark Walters seeing them through to the next stage.

Liverpool went on to be knocked out in the quarter-finals, but the victory represented their re-emergence on the European stage and set them up for success in the years to follow.

Liverpool 1-0 Barcelona (2001)

Liverpool’s UEFA Cup winning campaign in the 2000-01 season saw them come up against a formidable Barcelona side in the semi-finals.

The Catalans had some fantastic players among their ranks, including the likes of Carlos Puyol, Pep Guardiola, Frank de Boer, Overmars and Rivaldo, so it was always going to take a huge effort to overcome them.

In a tension-filled match under the lights at Anfield, Gary MacAllister converted a penalty in the 44th minute to give Liverpool a 1-0 lead ahead of a second-leg at the Camp Nou.

The Reds held onto their advantage and went on to win the final against Alaves 5-4 in extra time, with a 115th-minute own goal seeing them lift the trophy due to the now-removed Golden Goal rule.

Liverpool 3-0 vs Napoli (2010)

In 2010, Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard put in an incredible individual performance against Napoli in a group stage match that is still remembered by many supporters.

The Italian giants had taken the lead thanks to a goal by Ezequiel Lavezzi. Gerrard then came off the bench in the second half and single-handedly won the game for his team.

Napoli simply couldn’t deal with the England midfielder’s aggression and tenacity, and he scored an impressive hattrick after putting in a determined performance.

Liverpool v Napoli | Head To Head

Played 6️⃣ Won 2️⃣ Lost 2️⃣ Drawn 2️⃣

Best result: 3️⃣-1️⃣ in 2010 with a Steven Gerrard hat trick ✅

Who will be the hero later? 🤔pic.twitter.com/LnOSQ41M7P

— The Redmen TV (@TheRedmenTV) September 7, 2022

The victory was one of the few good nights for Roy Hodgson during his time at Liverpool. His team were ultimately knocked out of the competition in the Round of 16 by Portuguese side Braga.

Liverpool 2-0 Manchester United (2016)

Arguably the biggest rivalry in English football – Liverpool faced Manchester United in the Round of 16 of the 2015-16 Europa League.

Jurgen Klopp and Louis van Gaal were in the Anfield dugouts for the first leg of the European clash, which proved to be a fantastic night for the Reds.

Liverpool were by far the better side. Daniel Sturridge gave Liverpool a 20th-minute lead with a penalty after Memphis Depay fouled Nathaniel Clyne. Roberto Firmino added a second from close range with 17 minutes left. Man Utd barely had a chance in the match.

The Merseyside giants held onto a 1-1 draw in the second leg, which saw them progress to the quarter-finals of the competition.

Liverpool 4-3 Borussia Dortmund (2016)

After beating Man Utd, Liverpool were drawn against Bundesliga side Borussia Dortmund in the quarter-finals and they produced arguably the most dramatic comeback in the Red’s Europa League history.

Liverpool faced a difficult task after drawing the first leg 1-1 in Germany. It was made even more challenging after Henrik Mkhitaryan and Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang scored two goals for Dortmund within the first 10 minutes of the game at Anfield – they went into half-time 3-1 down on aggregate.

Divock Origi netted for Liverpool three minutes after the break, but Dortmund extended the lead through Marco Reus – a goal that seemed to put the tie beyond doubt.

However, Philippe Coutinho and Mamadou Sakho levelled the scores to make it 3-3 on the night, but Dortmund were still set to go through on away goals.

But an unlikely hero in Dejan Lovren headed home a corner in injury time to send the Liverpool fans into raptures, with the centre-back booking his team’s spot in the semi-finals.

Liverpool went on to beat Villarreal in the semi-finals but lost the final 3-1 to Sevilla. Despite this, the comeback against Dortmund will undoubtedly be remembered by fans for decades to come.

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