In September 1979, Dinamo Tbilisi travelled 2,319 miles for the first leg of a first-round tie in the European Cup. Goals by David Johnson and Jimmy Case secured a 2-1 home win, but the Reds then lost 3-0 in the return leg.
Spartak Vladikavkaz covered 2,260 miles when visiting Anfield in the UEFA Cup first round in September 1995.
The second leg finished goalless but the Reds had done enough to progress by claiming a 2-1 away victory over the 1995 Russian champions in the first leg a fortnight earlier, with Steve McManaman and Jamie Redknapp the scorers.
Four years prior, Apollon Limassol of Cyprus had travelled 2,171 miles for the first leg of a first-round tie in the European Cup Winners’ Cup. Liverpool ran out 6-1 winners in a match that saw two club records set.
At the age of 17 years and 215 days, Phil Charnock became the youngest Reds player to appear in European competition (a mark since surpassed by current squad members Rio Ngumoha and Trey Nyoni).
Meanwhile, Ian Rush’s four-goal haul saw him overtake Roger Hunt as Liverpool’s record European goalscorer. Rush is now sixth on that list, behind Mohamed Salah, Steven Gerrard, Sadio Mane, Roberto Firmino and Michael Owen.
Trabzonspor have twice journeyed 2,139 miles to Anfield, doing so in 1976 and 2010. Liverpool won both games.
Early goals from Steve Heighway, Johnson and Kevin Keegan overturned a 1-0 first-leg deficit in a European Cup second-round tie in November 1976 – and later that season, the Reds were crowned kings of the continent for the first time.
Thirty-four years later, Ryan Babel scored the only goal as Liverpool claimed a 1-0 victory in the first leg of a Europa League qualification play-off.
In October 2015, Rubin Kazan visited for Jürgen Klopp’s first European game in charge of the Reds and their 2,041-mile trip ended in a 1-1 draw. Emre Can netted an equaliser for Liverpool.
