First leg
23 March 1978
Attendance 66000
23 March 1978
Attendance 66000
Bob Paisley flinched when he heard thé draw for the Européen Cup semi-finals. Although Liverpool would hâve had a testing time against either Juventus or FC Bruges, Borussia Mô'nchengladbach were the team he really feared. Liverpool had beaten Udo Lattek's West German champions in the previous year's final, and in a UEFA Cup Final in 1973, but Bob Paisley knew Borussia would be yearning for revenge.
Liverpool had only rarely reproduced the form that had won them the Champions' Cup. The spirit of Rome had somehow been missing. The league championship looked lost, and they had been beaten by Nottingham Forest in thé League Cup Final, a trophy which had not found its way into the Liverpool locker. The European Cup offered thé last hope of success. Borussia knew that there was no Keegan, or Toshack, thé Welshman having departed for Swansea City to become player-manager.
The Germans, meanwhile, looked a stronger side than a year before, though they had scraped into thé semi-finals after losing 3-1 at SSW Innsbruck. In Germany, the talk was ail of revenge. Liverpool needed cool heads in front of 66,000 fans in Dusseldorf.
Liverpool kept faith with the tactic of using only two men, Heighway and Dalglish, in attack, leaving the rest of the team to defend in depth. Nevertheless, they still created good chances, and with more luck, and a little more accuracy, McDermott might well hâve given thé Reds a two-goal lead by half-time. Instead, they went in a goal down, after the 20-year-old defender Wilfried Hannes had headed home after a corner.After 65 minutes, Paisley replaced McDermott with David Johnson, and Heighway with Souness, giving thé future Liverpool manager his first taste of European soccer. It turned out to be much to his liking. Liverpool's back four had played admirably, continually stifling thé flair of Herbert Wimmer and thé goalscoring prowess of Josef Heynckes. A single goal defeat looked the likely outcome but, with thousands pouring out of thé stadium — and thé Spanish référée already looking at his watch, Liverpool scored, when Johnson darted through the defence to meet Case's cross.
It was at this late stage in the game, when Liverpool have traditionally been at their most dangerous, that thé Reds were given a dose of their own medicine. Still celebrating, Liverpool lost concentration, and Bonhof curled a 25-yard free kick beyond Ray Clémence. It was a recurring nightmare for thé England 'keeper who, only a month before, had conceded a similar goal to Bonhof in England's 2-1 defeat by West Germany in Munich. A defeat by thé same score for Liverpool still left thé Reds with a chance of going through, though thé manner of their defeat was annoying.
It was at this late stage in the game, when Liverpool have traditionally been at their most dangerous, that thé Reds were given a dose of their own medicine. Still celebrating, Liverpool lost concentration, and Bonhof curled a 25-yard free kick beyond Ray Clémence. It was a recurring nightmare for thé England 'keeper who, only a month before, had conceded a similar goal to Bonhof in England's 2-1 defeat by West Germany in Munich. A defeat by thé same score for Liverpool still left thé Reds with a chance of going through, though thé manner of their defeat was annoying.
Resume 25mt
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Liverpool: Clémence, Neal, Smith, Thompson, Kennedy, Hughes. Dalglish, Case, Heighway (Souness), McDermott (Johnson), Cal/aghan.
Scorers: Hannes (28) Bonhof (89); Johnson (88).
Borussia Mônchengladbach: Kleff, Vogts, Hannes, Wohlers, Bonhof, Nie/sen, Del'Haye, Wimmer, Lienen (Danner), Kulik, Heynckes.
Liverpool: Clémence, Neal, Smith, Thompson, Kennedy, Hughes. Dalglish, Case, Heighway (Souness), McDermott (Johnson), Cal/aghan.
Scorers: Hannes (28) Bonhof (89); Johnson (88).