In a row

Striker Michael Robinson had set up Smith for that golden chance to win the Cup Final for Brighton. He was soon a Liverpool player, one of the first pieces of business concluded by the newAnfield boss, 62-year-old Joe Fagan. Fagan, who had been at the club since the late 1950s, won three trophies in his first season, something that not even Paisley had achieved. Liverpool’s 1 Sth championship was also their third in a row, which meant that the club equalled the achievement of Huddersfield in the 1920s and Arsenal a decade later.

The Milk Cup Final pitted the Reds against Everton in the first ever Merseyside Final. It was scoreless after 120 minutes, and in the replay at Maine Road Graeme Souness scored the goal which gave Liverpool their fourth successive victory and won the trophy outright.

Fagan’s hat-trick was completed at the Olympic Stadium in Rome, where Liverpool overcame a Roma side that enjoyed home advantage. Liverpool took the lead on the quarter-hour, Phil Neal pouncing on a defensive error. Roma equalised on the stroke of half-time and that’s the way the scores stood after extra time. Steve Nicol’s penalty miss was wiped out by Bruno Conti. Bruce Grobbelaar looked to be the calmest man in the stadium, causing much mirth as he pretended that his knees had turned to jelly. If his clowning was designed to put Graziani off, it worked. He blazed over, leaving Alan Kennedy to calmly slot home the crucial penalty. It was the second time that Kennedy had scored the decisive goal in a European Cup Final.

Kendall’s Everton beat Watford

Everton made up for their unlucky defeat in the Milk Cup by beating Watford m the FA Cup Final. After a long time in the doldrums, former Goodison hero Howard Kendall was building a side capable of competing with their neighbours. Kendall had been a key member of the championship-winning side of 1970, the last major honour that the club had won. Graham Sharpe and Andy Gray scored the goals which left Watford fans in tears - quite literally in the chairman’s case.