The 1971 Scottish League Cup final was played on 23 October 1971 and was the final of the 26th Scottish League Cup competition. Newly promoted Partick Thistle beat Celtic, who had played in the European Cup final in 1970, in a major upset.^[1] Sam Leitch, a presenter of BBC sports show Grandstand, previewed the game by saying that:^[2]

In Scotland, it's League Cup final day at Hampden Park, where Celtic meet Partick Thistle, who have no chance.

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Thistle went 4–0 up inside 37 minutes, causing the reported crowd of 62,470 to allegedly be swelled by many thousands of Rangers fans who were keen to see their Old Firm rivals be humiliated.^[2] Kenny Dalglish pulled a goal back for Celtic in the second half, but Thistle held on to win 4–1.^[2]