FA Cup Final 1986

1986 FA Cup Final

Event

1985–86 FA Cup

Liverpool	Everton

3	1

Date

10 May 1986

Venue

Wembley Stadium, London

Referee

Alan Robinson (Hampshire)

Attendance

98,000

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The 1986 FA Cup Final was a Merseyside derby between Liverpool and Everton at Wembley. The match was played seven days after Liverpool had secured the league title, with Everton finishing as runners up. At this time, Liverpool and Everton were widely regarded as the English league's leading club sides.

Liverpool went on to win this match 3–1, with two goals from Ian Rush, and one from Craig Johnston, after Gary Lineker had put Everton ahead in the first half. Liverpool had already won the First Division title, and so completed the Double. Everton had finished as runners-up to Liverpool in the league.

However, the ban on English clubs in European competitions imposed after the previous season's Heysel disaster remained in force, meaning that Everton were unable to compete in the 1986–87 European Cup Winners' Cup (Liverpool as league champions would have gone into the European Cup).

Notable changes to the Everton side who had been runners up in the final a year earlier, were the absence of goalkeeper Neville Southall due to injury (his place in the team being taken by Bobby Mimms), and new signing Gary Lineker playing in the forward position which had previously been occupied by Andy Gray.

Liverpool, on the other hand, were competing in their first FA Cup final for nine years, they had not won it for twelve, and had no players remaining from the side that had won the final of 1974.

As substitute Steve McMahon was unused, Liverpool became the first team to compete in the FA Cup Final without fielding an English player. The last remaining player to leave winners Liverpool was Ian Rush, who joined Leeds in 1996, while Kevin Ratcliffe's departure from Everton in 1992, meant that the runners up had lost all of their players from the FA Cup final team within six years.

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