Liverpool's record win was 11-0 in the 1974 Cup Winners' Cup. Who were the opponents?

Liverpool's Biggest Ever Win — and the Night Stromsgodset Were Demolished

On a September evening in 1974, a Norwegian club from the town of Drammen walked into Anfield and left with a scoreline burned into footballing history. Stromsgodset IF conceded eleven goals without reply, handing Liverpool their biggest ever victory in a match that still stands as a record-breaking night for the Reds.

The Context: Cup Winners' Cup, First Round

Liverpool entered the 1974–75 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup off the back of winning the FA Cup the previous season, beating Newcastle United 3-0 at Wembley. The Cup Winners' Cup drew together domestic cup winners from across Europe, and Stromsgodset — champions of the Norwegian cup — were handed one of the toughest possible first-round draws imaginable.

The two-legged tie began at Anfield on 17 September 1974, and it was a mismatch from the opening whistle. Liverpool, managed by Bill Shankly's successor Bob Paisley in his very first competitive European campaign, were professional, ruthless, and utterly relentless. The goals came from all over the pitch — defenders, midfielders, forwards — with the final tally reaching 11-0 by the time referee blew for full time.

Who Were Stromsgodset?

Stromsgodset are a real club with genuine football pedigree in Norway — they won the Norwegian top flight as recently as 2013 — but in 1974 they were simply outclassed. The gulf between Norwegian football and England's First Division at that time was enormous, and there was very little Stromsgodset could do once the floodgates opened. They did manage a 1-0 win in the second leg back in Drammen, which made the aggregate 11-1 to Liverpool, but by that point the tie had long been decided.

Why the Confusion With Dundalk and Fulham?

If you hesitated over the answer, you're not alone. Liverpool have handed out some heavy defeats over the decades. They beat Irish club Dundalk 10-0 in the 1969–70 European Cup, and they thrashed Fulham 10-0 in a League Cup tie in 1986. Both are enormous scorelines, and both are designed to trip you up. But neither quite matches the 11-goal margin of that 1974 night. Always the record belongs to Stromsgodset.

A Footnote in Greatness

It's a quirk of football history that Liverpool's most lopsided victory came in Bob Paisley's very first European game as manager — a man who would go on to win three European Cups. For Stromsgodset, it remains an infamous piece of club history, though Norwegian fans today tend to retell it with a wry smile. When your opponents are one of English football's greatest ever sides, conceding eleven isn't quite so hard to stomach.