No. 63: The 1983 Milk Cup Final

No. 63 – The 1983 Milk Cup Final

On 26 March 1983, Liverpool and Manchester United contested the 1983 Milk Cup Final at Wembley in front of over 100,000 spectators. In only the second ever Milk Cup Final, Norman Whiteside scored a superb early goal for United. With Liverpool desperately looking for a goal, it was Alan Kennedy who scored with 15 minutes remaining, the full back picked the ball up just inside the United half and sprinted towards the United penalty box and unleashed an unstoppable strike which flew by the Unites goalkeeper, Gary Bailey.

Extra time came and with just 8 minutes gone, Ronnie Whelan stepped up with a goal that will never be forgotten, Ronnie curled in the winner with a long range classic, a goal that made it into the TIA Top 20 goals last year….

With the scoreline ending 2-1, Liverpool had won their third successive League Cup. However this match will always be remembered as the day Bob Paisley collected the Milk Cup trophy. As the team walked up the steps at Wembley to collect the trophy, team captain Graeme Souness stepped aside and requested that Bob Paisley take the honor of collecting the cup. This was Paisley’s last ever final at Wembley after announcing his decision to retire at the end of the season.

Liverpools Team :
Bruce Grobbelaar, Phil Neal, Alan Kennedy, Mark Lawrenson, Ronnie Whelan, Alan Hansen, Kenny Dalglish, Sammy Lee, Ian Rush, Craig Johnston, Graeme Souness