Eight years after reaching the Uefa Europa League final, Liverpool return to the competition in 2023/24 as one of the favourites to succeed serial champions Sevilla.
The Reds have never failed to reach the knockout stage in the modern format of the Europa League, which presents a chance for the club to return to trophy-winning ways after a barren 2022/23 season.
"We have to be ready if we want to go far in the competition," manager Jurgen Klopp said. "We have to be really greedy in all these games – and it's my job to make sure that we are."
Have have Liverpool fared in the Europa League? Are they the best team in the history of the competition, and what about this time around? The Sporting News examines their record so far.
MORE: Full rundown of Liverpool's European Cup and Champions League titles
How many Europa League titles have Liverpool won?
The Europa League was known as the Uefa Cup from its inaugural season in 1971/72 until 2009/10, and Liverpool were the second club to win the competition, following in the footsteps of Tottenham Hotspur the previous year.
Liverpool became the first team to win the competition twice when they triumphed again three years later, bringing the club the second European trophy in its history.
They had to wait 25 years to win in the final again, beating Alaves with a golden goal in the 116th minute at the end of the 2000/01 season. The final was a two-legged match until 1997/98.
| Season | Opponents | Stadium | Result | Liverpool scorers |
| 1972/73 | Monchengladbach | Anfield (1st leg); Bokelbergstadion (2nd) | 3-0; 0-2 | Kevin Keegan (2), Larry Lloyd |
| 1975/76 | Club Brugge | Anfield; Olympiastadion | 3-2; 1-1 | Ray Kennedy, Jimmy Case, Keegan; Keegan |
| 2000/01 | Alaves | Signal Iduna Park | 5-4 | Markus Babbel, Steven Gerrard, Gary McAllister, Robbie Fowler, Delfí Geli (own goal) |
⚽️ Babbel, Gerrard, McAllister, Fowler...
— UEFA Europa League (@EuropaLeague) May 16, 2019
🔴 #OTD in 2001, Liverpool's extraordinary 5-4 UEFA Cup final victory 😱😱😱#UEL | #UELfinal | @LFC pic.twitter.com/E55oDs41E4
Liverpool Europa League finishes
Liverpool's wins on those first two appearances in the Uefa Cup came under legendary managers: Bill Shankly on the first occasion, Bob Paisley on the second.
They had won four editions of the European Cup – now the Champions League – by the time they returned to the Uefa Cup in 1991/92, reaching the quarterfinals in their best finish of their four participations during the 1990s.
That dramatic win in 2000/01 gave Liverpool their first continental trophy since their European Cup win in 1984. They have been involved in the Europa League seven times since, going furthest during Klopp's first season in charge, when they reached the 2015/16 final and took the lead through Daniel Sturridge before Sevilla recovered to win 3-1.
Brilliant Liverpool goals 💫@LFC || #UEL pic.twitter.com/vQwQGW3XcU
— UEFA Europa League (@EuropaLeague) August 10, 2023
This is the second time Klopp will lead Liverpool in the Europa League. He has an impressive record in Europe during his tenure, winning the Champions League in 2018/19 and reaching the final of that competition on two further occasions, as well as lifting the Super Cup.
Before the 2004/05 season, the Europa League comprised one qualifying round and a series of knockout rounds. The format then became an initial knockout round for qualifying, a group stage and more knockout rounds until 2009/10, when the current method of an opening group stage and a series of knockout rounds was adopted.
Liverpool Uefa Cup and Europa League finishes by year
| Season | Stage Reached | Eliminated by |
| 1972/73 | Winners | – |
| 1975/76 | Winners | – |
| 1991/92 | Quarterfinals | Genoa |
| 1995/96 | Second round | Brondby |
| 1997/98 | Second round | Strasbourg |
| 1998/99 | Third round | Celta Vigo |
| 2000/01 | Winners | – |
| 2002/03 | Quarterfinals | Celtic |
| 2003/04 | Fourth round | Marseille |
| 2009/10 | Semifinals | Atletico Madrid |
| 2010/11 | Round of 16 | Braga |
| 2012/13 | Round of 32 | Zenit |
| 2014/15 | Round of 32 | Besiktas |
| 2015/16 | Final | Sevilla |
Which team has won most Europa League titles?
Sevilla have taken by far the most titles, winning the trophy seven times between 2006 and 2023 and never losing in a final.
Liverpool's record of three wins, including Uefa Cups, puts them level with Inter, Juventus and Atletico Madrid. Inter have lost in the final twice, while Liverpool and Juve have fallen at the last hurdle once each.
Most Europa League/Uefa Cup trophies:
- 7: Sevilla
- 3: Inter, Liverpool, Juventus, Atletico Madrid
- 2: Borussia Monchengladbach, Tottenham, Feyenoord, Eintracht Frankfurt, IFK Goteborg, Real Madrid, Parma, Porto, Chelsea
MORE: Liverpool's Europa League draw
Is Liverpool the best English team in the Europa League?
As those trophy cabinet numbers show, Liverpool are the most historically successful English team in the competition – and indeed in Europe in general.
Chelsea could make a case for being the best English team involved in modern times, having prevailed in 2013 and 2019. Manchester United also have as many Europa League title wins and appearances in the final as Liverpool this century, winning it in 2017 and losing in the final in 2021.
According to Uefa's club coefficient rankings, Liverpool are the best team in the competition by some distance in 2022/23, standing sixth in the whole of Europe before the competition started.
Of their fellow English participants, West Ham United were ranked 29th and European newcomers Brighton & Hove Albion were 80th.
