1971 Football League Cup final

The 1971 Football League Cup Final took place in February 1971 at Wembley Stadium. It was the eleventh Football League Cup final and the fifth to be played at Wembley.

It was contested between Tottenham Hotspur and Aston Villa. Tottenham Hotspur were riding high in the First Division (as the top level of league football in England was then known) and Aston Villa, the most successful club of the late Victorian and Edwardian eras and a traditional heavyweight, were in the Third Division (then the third tier of English football), a level to which it had never previously sunk.

This match signalled the reversal of a long period of decline for Villa. Ten years later they were champions of England and the following year they had become the champions of Europe.

Road to Wembley
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Tottenham Hotspur
Round 1: Bye

Round 2: Tottenham Hotspur 3-0 Swansea City (9 September 1970)

Round 3: Tottenham Hotspur 2-1 Sheffield United (7 October 1970)

Round 4: Tottenham Hotspur 5-0 West Bromwich Albion (28 October 1970)

Quarter final: Tottenham Hotspur 4-1 Coventry City (18 November 1970)

Semi final, 1st leg: Bristol City 1–1 Tottenham Hotspur (16 December 1970)

Semi final, 2nd leg: Tottenham Hotspur 2–0 Bristol City (after extra time) (23 December 1970)
 * Tottenham won 3–1 on aggregate


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Aston Villa
Round 1: Aston Villa 4–0 Notts County

Round 2: Aston Villa 2–0 Burnley

Round 3: Northampton Town 1–1 Aston Villa
 * Replay Aston Villa 3–0 Northampton Town

Round 4: Aston Villa 1–0 Carlisle United

Quarter final: Bristol Rovers 1–1 Aston Villa
 * Replay Aston Villa 1–0 Bristol Rovers

Semi final, 1st leg: Manchester United 1–1 Aston Villa

Semi final, 2nd leg: Aston Villa 2–1 Manchester United
 * Aston Villa won 3–2 on aggregate


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