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 was the first European final they had reached since being banned from European competition following the Heysel Stadium disaster in 1985. Alavés were appearing in their first European final.
Each team had to progress through six knockout rounds with matches played over two legs. Both teams played 12 matches to reach the final. Liverpool's matches were mainly close affairs; none of their ties were won by more than two goals. The semi-final tie against Barcelona was won 1–0. In contrast, Alavés ties ranged from close 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 73rd minute when Robbie Fowler scored. With a minute remaining in the match, Alavés equalised thanks to Jordi Cruyff. The match went into extra time, 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 consisting of the Football League Cup, FA Cup and UEFA Cup.
Route to the final
Liverpool
Liverpool qualified for the UEFA Cup by finishing fourth in the 1999–2000 FA Premier League. Their opposition in the first round was Rapid București of Romania. The first leg was held at Rapid's home ground Stadionul Giuleşti-Valentin Stănescu, where Nick Barmby gave Liverpool a 1–0 win with a goal in the 28th minute. The second leg at Liverpool's home ground, Anfield, finished 0–0, which meant that Liverpool won the tie 1–0 on aggregate to progress to the second round. Liverpool faced Slovan Liberec of the Czech Republic in the second round. The first leg at Anfield was heading for a 0–0 draw, until the 87th minute when Emile Heskey scored to give Liverpool a 1–0 victory. The second leg was at Liberec's home ground, the Stadion u Nisy. Liberec took the lead in the first half to level the tie at 1–1. Midway through the first half, Liverpool equalised to make it 1–1 on the night and 2–1 in their favour on aggregate. Two further goals in the second half by Barmby and Michael Owen, before a late Liberec goal, ensured Liverpool won the match 3–2 to progress to the third round after a 4–2 aggregate victory.
Olympiacos of Greece were their opponents in the third round. The first leg was held at Olympiacos' home ground, the Karaiskakis Stadium. Liverpool were heading for a 2–1 victory courtesy of goals from Barmby and Steven Gerrard, until Olympiacos equalised in the last minute to earn a 2–2 draw. The second leg at Anfield was won 2–0 by Liverpool, with a goal scored in each half by Barmby and Heskey respectively. The victory ensured Liverpool won the tie 4–2 on aggregate to progress to the fourth round.
Liverpool faced the Italian side Roma in the fourth round. The first leg was held at Roma's home ground the Stadio Olimpico, where Liverpool had won the European Cup twice in 1977 and 1984. Incidentally, Roma were the team Liverpool beat to win the European Cup in 1984. Liverpool were once again successful at the Stadio Olimpico, as they won 2–0 courtesy of two Owen goals in the second-half. The second leg at Anfield was a close affair. Roma scored in the 70th minute to take the lead, and needed to score another goal to take the match into extra-time. They looked like they had the opportunity to do so when the referee awarded a penalty towards the end of the match after he had adjudged that Markus Babbel had handled the ball. Moments later, he reversed his decision and instead awarded Roma a corner-kick. Roma were unable to score the necessary goal following the incident and Liverpool progressed to the quarter-finals courtesy of a 2–1 aggregate victory.