#2 The first European triumph in 1977
The massive void left by Bill Shankly’s departure was more than filled by the astute leadership of his assistant Bob Paisley, who voraciously built on the success Shankly ushered in for Liverpool. Out of all of Paisley’s brilliant success, the most important one probably came on May 25th, 1977 when Liverpool, who were the English champions, faced off against German champions Borussia Monchengladbach in the European Cup final in Rome.
Terry McDermott gave Liverpool the lead in the 28th minute, but an Allan Simonsen goal after half-time saw Monchengladbach level the playing field. However, goals from Tommy Smith and Phil Neal (from a penalty) in the 64th and 82nd minutes sealed the game for the Reds, who won their first European Cup, much to the joy of their fans.
The 1977 victory was the first of an astonishing five European Cup triumphs for the Merseyside club. Paisley went on to win a further two European Cups making him the only European manager to win the trophy on three occasions until his record was equalled by Carlo Ancelotti in 2014.
