 The 1981 European Cup Final was an association football match between Liverpool of England and Real Madrid of Spain on 27 May 1981 at the <unk> des <unk> , Paris , France . It was the final match of the 1980 – 81 season of Europe 's premier cup competition , the European Cup . Liverpool were appearing in their third final , after two appearances in 1977 and 1978 . Real Madrid were appearing in their ninth final , they had previously won the competition six times and lost twice . 
