2001 UEFA Cup Final - Post-match

Post-match

Liverpool's victory was their third UEFA Cup success, this put them level with Internazionale and Juventus as the teams with the most success in the competition. Their victory also meant they completed a Treble of cup victories, as they had won the Football League Cup and the FA Cup earlier in the season.

The match has hailed as one of the most exciting finals in modern times, with Alan Hansen declaring: "the best final ever." Liverpool manager Gérard Houllier hailed his players after the match: "When you play in a European final, you are looking for immortality. People remember who was playing and when you look at programmes from finals you just recall the facts of the game. These boys have produced a game which will be remembered for a long time — and that is thanks to Alavés too." Houllier hit back at critics that had labelled Liverpool as boring before the match: "Maybe we are a boring side — as I seem to keep reading — but I will put up with that. We must have scored 122 of our 123 goals on the counter attack, but all I know is that our total this season is the third highest in Liverpool's history."

The performance of Gary McAllister was lauded after the match with Trevor Brooking stating: "Gary McAllister was outstanding." Alan Hansen also praised McAllister's performance: "Gary McAllister was outstanding. At 36, to keep going the way he did, keep taking those free-kicks and producing it when it counted, was sensational. He fully deserved his man of the match award."

Alavés manager José Manuel Esnal praised his players despite their loss: "Dortmund has seen a great final, and it was possibly the smallest team in the competition that made it great." Esnal saluted his players for their character especially for equalising twice in the match: "We played with pride and class to get the score back to 4–4 at the end of normal time, the result of that, however, was that we were half dead going into extra-time. But we're the same team as we were two hours ago. One side always has to lose a final, just as one wins."

Despite their success, Liverpool were not celebrating immediately after the match, as they had an important match in the Premier League on the Saturday following the final. The match against Charlton Athletic was a must-win match for Liverpool if they wanted to finish in third place in the league and claim the final UEFA Champions League qualification place. The subsequent match was won 4–0 by Liverpool to secure their place in the 2001–02 UEFA Champions League. Winning the UEFA Cup entitled Liverpool to compete in the 2001 UEFA Super Cup against Champions League winners Bayern Munich. Liverpool won the match 3–2 to secure their second Super Cup victory.