Bob Paisley’s Reds had ultimately been comfortable in seeing off Crusaders of Northern Ireland 7-0 on aggregate in round one of the European Cup in 1976-77.

The club’s fourth attempt to win the prestigious trophy for the first time would next take them to the eastern edge of the continent.

Turkish champions Trabzonspor were the team paired with Liverpool in the draw for the second round, and they would host leg one on their own patch.

Travel restrictions and political unrest in the region meant an away ticket allocation was not taken up by the Reds, much to the disappointment of Kopites eager for another adventure abroad.

Legend has it, though - corroborated by a reporter in attendance, Horace Yates - that a small few resourceful and determined Liverpool fans, perhaps even just one, did successfully undertake the journey to Trabzon Sehir Stadt.

In the end, they may have had a better experience than the squad.

The club’s rejoinders to UEFA and their opponents for the match to be switched from the Black Sea port of Trabzon to one of Turkiye’s major cities, to aid ease of travel, had been rejected.

Their preparations were not helped either when, upon arrival, their hotel was changed and the new one found to fall a long way short of expectations.

“The hotel was awful,” goalkeeper Ray Clemence recalled. “We were woken by the noise of farm animals at 5am, and the food was terrible.”

Come matchday itself, Liverpool would make clear their unhappiness with both the condition of the pitch and the ball, too, with even the traditionally stoic and quiet Paisley not mincing his words.

“We were playing with a pig’s bladder that was only fit for blow football,” grumbled the manager.

A win or draw might have traced a silver lining through the cloud that hung over Liverpool’s trip, but their frustration was to continue.

Despite Paisley’s men quickly asserting a level of control on the action, they were unable to really trouble Senol Gunes in the Trabzonspor net, who did foil Steve Heighway and John Toshack during the first half.

After the break, Terry McDermott’s effort was blocked when Gunes missed a cross into the box by Heighway, before at the other end Phil Thompson recovered to prevent Ali Kemal a one-on-one against Clemence.

But Trabzonspor secured the only goal of the game just past the hour mark. In keeping with the theme of the Reds’ trip, it was highly contentious.

Necmi Perekli went down inside the area under the attention of a bewildered Emlyn Hughes and the referee judged it to be a penalty. Cemil Usta stepped up to the kick and dispatched it into the left corner as Clemence dove the other way.

Liverpool’s captain argued: “We were coasting along when the referee gave a penalty that was the most ridiculous decision I have ever seen. I had cleared the ball before the player fell over me.”

Paisley injected the pace of two Davids - Johnson and Fairclough - from the bench towards the end but the Reds, playing all in white, could not muster a response before the final whistle.

And so for all of the visitors’ discomfort and complaints, the only fact that would matter from the entire experience was that they had lost 1-0.

A comeback was needed at Anfield.