The 1978 European Super Cup was a football match played over two legs between Liverpool of England and Anderlecht of Belgium.

Watched by a crowd of 35,000 at the Emile Versé Stadium, Anderlecht took an early lead in the first half of the first leg when Franky Vercauteren and François Van der Elst scored.

The European Super Cup was founded in the early 1970s, as a means to determine the best team in Europe and serve as a challenge to Ajax, the strongest club side of its day.

[5] They were the current holders of the Super Cup after beating German team Hamburger SV in the previous season's competition.

Five minutes later, Anderlecht came close to extending their lead, but Benny Nielsen's shot was saved by Liverpool goalkeeper Ray Clemence.

Liverpool started to exert themselves upon the match following this and equalised in the 27th minute when midfielder Jimmy Case scored from the edge of the Anderlecht penalty area.

Anderlecht defender Jean Thissen was shown a yellow card before the end of the half for a late tackle on Liverpool striker Kenny Dalglish.

Rensenbrink, in particular, was in good form as he caused numerous problems for Liverpool defender Emlyn Hughes, who started because of an injury to Phil Thompson after being absent himself for a lengthy period.

Liverpool replaced David Johnson with midfielder Steve Heighway in an attempt to get back into the match but it was to no avail as Anderlecht extended their lead late in the second half when Rensenbrink scored.

[9] Liverpool manager Bob Paisley was critical of his team's performance in the first leg: "We threw it away, our attitude was wrong and we were careless.

"[10] Anderlecht's 3–1 victory in the first leg meant that Liverpool needed to score two goals to force the tie into extra-time.

A shot by midfielder Jimmy Case was saved by Anderlecht goalkeeper Nico de Bree, but the ball rebounded to Emlyn Hughes who scored to give Liverpool a 1–0 lead.

[12] Liverpool continued to attack to try to score the goal they needed to level the tie, but they were unable to do so with chances not being converted, including a shot by Kenny Dalglish, which was saved by de Bree.