1990/91: United put England back on the map
Saturday, June 1, 1991
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Manchester United FC celebrated the re-admission of English clubs to Europe by defeating FC Barcelona in a tense Rotterdam occasion.
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Manchester United FC 2-1 FC Barcelona
Feijenoord Stadium, Rotterdam
Manchester United FC celebrated the re-admission of English clubs to Europe. In their run to the final, they won all their away games – notably in France after Montpellier-Hérault SC had drawn 1-1 at Old Trafford and in Poland against CWKS Legia Warszawa, who had knocked out the defending champions, Sampdoria UC, in the quarter-finals.
Tough task
FC Barcelona had a tougher draw. After scraping past Dinamo Kiev 4-3 on aggregate in the quarter-finals, they beat Juventus FC 3-1 at home in the semi-final thanks to goals by Hristo Stoitchkov (2) and Jon Andoni Goikoetxea. In Turin, Andoni Zubizarreta was only beaten once, but received a yellow card which meant suspension from the final along with midfielder Guillermo Amor, sent off. Stoitchkov, injured in the league, also missed the final.
Pressure game pays off
A crowd of 44,000 packed into De Kuip for a tense final. Johan Cruyff’s side, with Michael Laudrup, Ronald Koeman and a platoon of Spanish internationals, struggled to cope with the English pressure-game and United took a 68th-minute lead when Mark Hughes, playing a ‘revenge match’ against his former club, touched home a Steve Bruce header after a free-kick. Seven minutes later, he crashed a shot past reserve keeper Carlos Busquets to make it 2-0. But Koeman scored from a free-kick ten minutes from time and, even though Fernando Muñoz ‘Nando’ was sent off, Barcelona created chance after chance in what Alex Ferguson described as "the worst ten minutes of my life".
He and United survived to lift the trophy.
Manchester United FC - FC Barcelona | 2 - 1 |
Stage | Final |
Half-Time | 0 - 0 |
Date | 15.05.1991 |
Kick-Off | 20:15:00 |
Venue | Feijenoord |
City/Town | Rotterdam |
Attendance | 43500 |
Referee | KARLSSON Bo (SWE) |
Match Report |
67' | 10 HUGHES Leslie Mark | ||||
72' | 3 ALEXANCO VENTOSA José Ramón (out) / 16 PINILLA MIRANDA Antonio (in) | ||||
74' | 10 HUGHES Leslie Mark | ||||
75' | 6 BAKERO ESCUDERO II José Maria | ||||
77' | 7 ROBSON Bryan | ||||
79' | 4 KOEMAN Ronald | ||||
84' | 2 MUÑOZ GARCIA Fernando |
Team Line-Ups | |
Manchester United FC | FC Barcelona |
1 SEALEY Les (G) | 1 BUSQUETS BARROSO Carlos (G) |
2 IRWIN Dennis Joseph | 2 MUÑOZ GARCIA Fernando |
3 BLACKMORE Clayton | 3 ALEXANCO VENTOSA José Ramón (C) |
4 BRUCE Steven | 4 KOEMAN Ronald |
5 PHELAN Michael | 5 FERRER LLOPIS Alberto |
6 PALLISTER Gary | 6 BAKERO ESCUDERO II José Maria |
7 ROBSON Bryan (C) | 7 GOICOECHEA LASA Juan Antonio |
8 INCE Paul | 8 SACRISTAN MENA Eusebio |
9 McCLAIR Brian | 9 SALINAS FERNANDEZ Julio |
10 HUGHES Leslie Mark | 10 LAUDRUP Michael |
11 SHARPE Lee | 11 BEGUIRISTAIN MUGICA Aitor |
Substitutes | |
13 WALSH Gary (G) | 13 ANGOY GIL Jesus Mariano (G) |
12 DONAGHY Malachy | 12 SERNA OROZCO Ricardo Jesus |
14 WEBB Neil | 14 SOLER SARASOLS Miguel |
15 ROBINS Mark Gordon | 15 HERRERA ZAMORA Sebastian |
16 WALLACE Daniel | 16 PINILLA MIRANDA Antonio |
Head Coach | |
FERGUSON Alex | CRUYFF Johan |