If you ask any Evertonian to name the game the one they’d take to the grave it’s this. Goodison Park, 24 April 1985. Everton 3, Bayern Munich 1. A night so iconic, so electric, so full of fight and feeling, that even 40 years on, it still sends shivers down the spine.
This was the semi-final of the European Cup Winners’ Cup. Everton, the underdogs. Bayern, the giants with a squad boasting Lothar Matthaus, Jean-Marie Pfaff, Soren Lerby European royalty. But on this night, they walked into a cauldron.
The first leg in Munich had ended 0-0. Solid. But now the tie was alive, and Goodison was ready.
The night didn’t start perfectly Dieter Hoeness silenced the crowd with a first-half sucker punch. Everton’s first goal conceded in the entire tournament. 1-0 Bayern at the break, and dreams of Rotterdam were slipping.
But then came the second half.
Kendall, cool as ice, told his players, “Get the ball in the box. The Gwladys Street will suck it in.” He knew. He felt it. Within minutes, it was happening. Stevens’ long throw, Gray’s flick, Sharp’s header BOOM. 1-1. The noise? Unreal.
Then, again. Pfaff spills, Gray pounces. 2-1. Goodison erupts. And when Trevor Steven—who’d had a nightmare of a game swept home the third after a majestic move started by Sheedy, the place went volcanic.
3-1. Full-time. Bayern were battered, broken. Goodison had become a force of nature.
This wasn’t just a football match. It was war, art, poetry and thunder all rolled into one. Ask Pat Van Den Hauwe, ask Neville Southall, ask Peter Reid they’ll all tell you: there’s never been a night like it.
Everton didn’t just beat Bayern they overwhelmed them. It was passion, grit, and belief poured into 90 minutes of pure football theatre.
Forget stats, forget tactics. This was heart. This was soul. This was Everton.
And no matter how shiny the new stadium will be, no night will ever eclipse that one under the Goodison lights in April ’85.
