The 1991 European Cup Winners' Cup Final was a football match played between Manchester United and

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

on 15 May 1991 at

Feijenoord Stadion Stadion Feijenoord (), more commonly known by its nickname De Kuip (, the Tub), is a stadium in Rotterdam, Netherlands. It was completed in 1937. The name is derived from the Feijenoord district in Rotterdam, and from the club with the same na ...

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"Ne ...

. It was the final match of the

1990–91 European Cup Winners' Cup The 1990–91 season of the European Cup Winners' Cup was won by Manchester United against Barcelona. The victory for United was made significant as it was the season English clubs returned to European football, after completing a five-year ban as ...

and the 31st

European Cup Winners' Cup The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The cup was, chronologically, the second seasonal inter-European club competition organised by UEFA. The tournam ...

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 The Heysel Stadium disaster ( it, Strage dell'Heysel ; german: link=no, Katastrophe von Heysel ; french: Drame du Heysel ; nl, Heizeldrama ) was a crowd disaster that occurred on 29 May 1985 when mostly Juventus fans escaping from a breach by L ...

in 1985. The match ended 2–1 to Manchester United on the night, with both United goals coming from former Barcelona forward

Mark Hughes Leslie Mark Hughes (born 1 November 1963) is a Welsh football coach and former player who is the manager of Bradford City. During his playing career he usually operated as a forward or midfielder. He had two spells at Manchester United, an ...

Ronald Koeman Ronald Koeman (; born 21 March 1963) is a Dutch professional football manager and former player. He is the younger brother of his former international teammate Erwin Koeman and the son of former Dutch international Martin Koeman. Koeman was cap ...

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

Match

Summary

, who had previously played for

, scored both of the goals for Manchester United. His career had faltered after

Terry Venables Terence Frederick Venables (born 6 January 1943), often referred to as El Tel, is an English former football player and manager, and an author. During the 1960s and '70s, he played for various clubs including Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur and Queen ...

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 Bryan Robson OBE (born 11 January 1957) is an English football manager and former player. He began his career with West Bromwich Albion in 1972, where he amassed over 200 appearances and was club captain before moving to Manchester United in ...

, 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 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 Leslie Jesse Sealey (29 September 1957 – 19 August 2001) was an English professional footballer and coach. He played as a goalkeeper, most notably in the top flight for Coventry City, Manchester United, Aston Villa, and West Ham United. ...

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 rounds (unlike Barcelona who lost two games in qualifying).

Brian McClair Brian John McClair (born 8 December 1963) is a Scottish football coach and former professional footballer. As a player, he was a forward from 1980 to 1998, notable for his near 11-year spell at Manchester United where he won 14 trophies includ ...

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.

Details

References

External links

1991 European Cup Winners' Cup Final at UEFA.comThe Times Article on the game
{{Manchester United F.C. matches 3 Cup Winners' Cup Final 1991

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phi ...