The 2001 UEFA Cup Final was a football match between Liverpool of England and Alavés of Spain on 16 May 2001 at the Westfalenstadion in Dortmund, Germany. The showpiece event was the final match of the 2000–01 edition of Europe's secondary cup competition, the UEFA Cup. Liverpool were appearing in their third UEFA Cup final, after their appearances in 1973 and 1976. It also represented the first European final they reached since being banned from Europe following the Heysel Stadium disaster. Alavés were appearing in their first European final.
Each team had to progress through six knockout rounds playing 12 matches in total to reach the final. Liverpool's matches were mainly close affairs, none of their ties were won by more than two goals. The fourth round and semi-final ties against Roma and Barcelona were won 1–0. In contrast, Alavés ties ranged from close affairs to comfortable victories. They won their first round tie against Gaziantepspor by one goal, whereas they beat Kaiserslautern 9–2 in the semi-final.
Watched by a crowd of 48,050, Liverpool took an early lead when Markus Babbel scored in the fourth minute. They extended their lead in the 16th minute when Steven Gerrard scored. Midway through the first half, Iván Alonso scored to bring Alavés within a goal of levelling the match. A few minutes before the end of the first half, Liverpool went 3–1 up when Gary McAllister scored from the penalty spot. Minutes after the start of the second half, Javi Moreno scored twice to level the match at 3–3. Liverpool went in front again in the 76th minute when Robbie Fowler scored. With a minute remaining in the match, Alavés equalised thanks to Jordi Cruyff. The match went into extra-time, with the first half goalless. With the match heading for a penalty shoot-out, Delfí Geli headed into his own net, as a result, Liverpool won on the golden goal rule. The victory meant Liverpool completed a Treble of Football League Cup, FA Cup and UEFA Cup.
Read more about 2001 UEFA Cup Final: Post-match
Famous quotes containing the words cup and/or final:
“If you desire to drain to the dregs the fullest cup of scorn and hatred that a fellow human being can pour out for you, let a young mother hear you call dear baby “it.””
—Jerome K. Jerome (1859–1927)
“During my administration the most unpleasant and perhaps most dramatic negotiations in which we participated were with the various leaders of Iran after the seizure of American hostages in November 1979. The Algerians were finally chosen as the only intermediaries who were considered trustworthy both by me and the Ayatollah Khomeini. After many aborted efforts, final success was achieved during my last few hours in the White House.”
—Jimmy Carter (James Earl Carter, Jr.)