1991 European Cup Winners' Cup final

1991 European Cup Winners' Cup final 1991 European Cup Winners' Cup Final programme.jpg Match programme cover 1990–91 European Cup Winners' Cup Manchester United ENG 30px 2 Barcelona ESP 30px 1 15 May 1991 Stadion Feijenoord Rotterdam Bo Karlsson (Sweden) 43,500 1990 1992 The 1991 European Cup Winners' Cup final was a football match played between Manchester United and Barcelona on 15 May 1991 at Feijenoord Stadion, Rotterdam. It was the final match of the 1990–91 European Cup Winners' Cup and the 31st European Cup Winners' Cup final. It came at the end of the first season of the reintroduction of English clubs into European competition after the ban following the Heysel disaster in 1985. The match ended 2–1 to Manchester United on the night, with both United goals coming from former Barcelona forward Mark Hughes. Ronald Koeman scored a consolation goal for Barcelona towards the end of the game, but it was not enough to prevent the Red Devils from becoming the first English side to win a European competition since they were banned in 1985. It was also United's first European title in 23 years, since the European Cup in 1968. This was their only Cup Winners' Cup title, in which they only played one more season, eliminated in the second round in 1991–92. Route to the final 1990–91 European Cup Winners' Cup ENG Manchester UnitedRoundESP BarcelonaOpponentAgg.1st leg2nd legStagesOpponentAgg.1st leg2nd legHUN Pécs3–02–0 (H)1–0 (A)First roundTUR Trabzonspor7–30–1 (A)7–2 (H)WAL Wrexham5–03–0 (H)2–0 (A)Second roundISL Fram5–12–1 (A)3–0 (H)FRA 1974 Montpellier3–11–1 (H)2–0 (A)Quarter-finalsURS Dynamo Kyiv4–33–2 (A)1–1 (H)POL Legia Warsaw4–23–1 (A)1–1 (H)Semi-finalsITA Juventus3–23–1 (H)0–1 (A) Match Summary thumb|right|200px|Former Barcelona forward Mark Hughes scored both of United's goals. Mark Hughes, who had previously played for Barcelona, scored both of the goals for Manchester United. His career had faltered after Terry Venables took him to the Camp Nou in 1986. A loan spell at Bayern Munich revived him prior to his return to United in 1988. After a goalless first half, United went 1–0 up following a free-kick from captain, Bryan Robson, which was headed goalwards by defender Steve Bruce. United striker Mark Hughes tapped the ball over the line, although whether the ball had already crossed before Hughes touched it was in dispute for some time, with both Bruce and Hughes claiming the goal (Mark Hughes later credited the goal to Steve Bruce, but the official scoreline shows both goals as being scored by Hughes). For his second goal, Hughes cut the ball into the net from such an acute angle on the right that he had to spin it off the outside of his boot to ensure that it found its mark. After Koeman scored from a free kick, which came off the upright and hit the legs of United keeper Les Sealey before crossing the line, Barcelona had a late equaliser ruled out for offside and also had a shot cleared off the line. United finished the game 2–1 winners. Manchester United were undefeated in all previous rounds matches prior to this game (unlike Barcelona who lost two games in previous rounds). Brian McClair scored at least once in every round that Manchester United were involved in, except the final. The Spanish newspapers stated "The Red Devils came dressed in white, like angels" but went on to remark at how devilish United were in their beating of Barcelona.June 2024 Details 15 May 1991 20:15 CEST Manchester United ENG 2–1 Report ESP Barcelona Hughes 67 74 Koeman 79 Stadion Feijenoord, Rotterdam 43,500 Bo Karlsson (Sweden) _manutd1991cwc _manutd1991cwc _manutd1991cwc _manutdh9092 _red_top_3_white_stripes FFFFFF FFFFFF FFFFFF FFFFFF FFFFFF Manchester United _fcbarcelona8089t _barcelona8089t _fcbarcelona8089t _barcelona8089 _barcelona92h 396CEE 396CEE 396CEE 000066 1524D5 Barcelona GK 1 ENG Les SealeyRB 2 IRL Denis IrwinLB 3 WAL Clayton BlackmoreCB 4 ENG Steve BruceRM 5 ENG Mike PhelanCB 6 ENG Gary PallisterCM 7 ENG Bryan Robson (c) 78CM 8 ENG Paul InceSS 9 SCO Brian McClairCF 10WAL Mark HughesLM 11ENG Lee SharpeSubstitutes:DF 12NIR Mal DonaghyGK 13ENG Gary WalshMF 14ENG Neil WebbFW 15ENG Mark RobinsFW 16ENG Danny WallaceManager:SCO Alex Ferguson300px GK 1 ESP Carles BusquetsRB 2 ESP Nando 0 84CB 3 ESP José Ramón Alexanko (c) 72DM 4 NED Ronald KoemanLB 5 ESP Albert FerrerCM 6 ESP José Mari Bakero 76RM 7 ESP Jon Andoni GoikoetxeaCM 8 ESP EusebioCF 9 ESP Julio SalinasCF 10DEN Michael LaudrupLM 11ESP Txiki BegiristainSubstitutes:GK 12ESP Jesús AngoyMF 13ESP Miquel SolerDF 14ESP Ricardo SernaDF 15ESP Sebastián HerreraFW 16ESP Antonio Pinilla 72Manager:NED Johan Cruyff Assistant referees: Rune Larsson (Sweden) Leif Sundell (Sweden) Fourth official: John Blankenstein (Netherlands)Match rules 90 minutes. 30 minutes of extra time if necessary. Penalty shoot-out if scores still level. Five named substitutes. Maximum of two substitutions. See also 1990–91 European Cup Winners' Cup 1991 European Cup final 1991 UEFA Cup final 2009 UEFA Champions League final – contested between same teams 2011 UEFA Champions League final – contested between same teams FC Barcelona in international football Manchester United F.C. in European football References External links 1991 European Cup Winners' Cup Final at UEFA.com Daily Telegraph Article on the game The Times Article on the game Final 1991 Cup Winners' Cup Final 1991 Cup Winners' Cup Final 1991 Cup Winners' Cup Final Cup Winners' Cup Final Cup Winners' Cup Final European Cup Winners' Cup final Category:Football matches in Rotterdam Category:20th century in Rotterdam Category:Spain–United Kingdom sports relations