| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Dates | 19 August 1990 – 15 May 1991 |
| Teams | 33 |
| Final positions | |
| Champions | |
| Runners-up | |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 63 |
| Goals scored | 160 (2.54 per match) |
| Attendance | 1,112,484 (17,658 per match) |
| Top scorer(s) | Roberto Baggio (Juventus) 9 goals |
The 1990–91 season of the European Cup Winners' Cup was won by Manchester United against Barcelona. The victory for United was significant as it was the season English clubs returned to European football, after completing a five-year ban as a result of the Heysel Stadium disaster.
Teams
A total of 33 teams participated in the competition. Yugoslav Cup winners Red Star Belgrade won the double, and cup runners-up Hajduk Split were disqualified, so no representative of Yugoslavia participated.
| First round | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Qualifying round | |||
Notes
- ^ East Germany (GDR): All matches of PSV Schwerin, representing the DFV of East Germany as runners-up of the 1989–90 FDGB-Pokal (as Dynamo Dresden won the double and qualified for the European Cup), on or after German reunification of 3 October show the flag of the reunited nation of Germany. However, those matches and their records were still counted for East Germany, and not for Germany, under UEFA regulations.
Qualifying round
| Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bray Wanderers |
1–3 | 1–1 | 0–2 |
First leg
| Bray Wanderers | 1–1 | |
|---|---|---|
| Nugent |
Report | Đukić |
Second leg
| Trabzonspor | 2–0 | |
|---|---|---|
| Đukić Aslan |
Report |
Trabzonspor won 3–1 on aggregate.
First round

| Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nea Salamis |
0–5 | 0–2 | 0–3 | |
| Legia Warsaw |
6–0 | 3–0 | 3–0 | |
| Olympiacos |
5–1 | 3–1 | 2–0 | |
| Kaiserslautern |
1–2 | 1–0 | 0–2 | |
| Manchester United |
3–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | |
| Wrexham |
1–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | |
| Montpellier |
1–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | |
| Glentoran |
1–6 | 1–1 | 0–5 | |
| KuPS |
2–6 | 2–2 | 0–4 | |
| Sliema Wanderers |
1–4 | 1–2 | 0–2 | |
| Fram |
4–1 | 3–0 | 1–1 | |
| Trabzonspor |
3–7 | 1–0 | 2–7 | |
| Viking |
0–5 | 0–2 | 0–3 | |
| Estrela da Amadora |
2–2 (4–3 p)† | 1–1 | 1–1 (aet) | |
| PSV Schwerin |
0–2 | 0–2 | 0–0 | |
| Sliven |
1–8 | 0–2 | 1–6 |
† Order of legs reversed after original draw
First leg
| Sliema Wanderers | 1–2 | |
|---|---|---|
| Walker |
Report | V. Rada J. Kostelník |
| Nea Salamis | 0–2 | |
|---|---|---|
| Report | Mason Gillhaus |
| Legia Warsaw | 3–0 | |
|---|---|---|
| Kosecki Pisz |
Report |
| Olympiacos | 3–1 | |
|---|---|---|
| Anastopoulos Hantzidis |
Report | Ziu |
| Kaiserslautern | 1–0 | |
|---|---|---|
| Kuntz |
Report |
| Manchester United | 2–0 | |
|---|---|---|
| Blackmore Webb |
Report |
| Montpellier | 1–0 | |
|---|---|---|
| Ziober |
Report |
| Glentoran | 1–1 | |
|---|---|---|
| Douglas |
Report | Stan |
| KuPS | 2–2 | |
|---|---|---|
| K. Nyyssönen Gayle |
Report | Salenko Yuran |
| Fram | 3–0 | |
|---|---|---|
| Ragnarsson Arnþórsson |
Report |
| Trabzonspor | 1–0 | |
|---|---|---|
| Aslan |
Report |
| Estrela da Amadora | 1–1 | |
|---|---|---|
| Ricky |
Report | Sutter |
| PSV Schwerin | 0–2 | |
|---|---|---|
| Report | Miļevskis Zsak |
Second leg
| Aberdeen | 3–0 | |
|---|---|---|
| C. Robertson Gillhaus Jess |
Report |
Aberdeen won 5–0 on aggregate.
| Swift Hesperange | 0–3 | |
|---|---|---|
| Report | Jóźwiak Łatka Kosecki |
Legia Warsaw won 6–0 on aggregate.
| Flamurtari | 0–2 | |
|---|---|---|
| Report | Christodoulou Mitropoulos |
Olympiacos won 5–1 on aggregate.
Sampdoria won 2–1 on aggregate.
| Pécsi Munkás | 0–1 | |
|---|---|---|
| Report | McClair |
Manchester United won 3–0 on aggregate.
Wrexham won 1–0 on aggregate.
Montpellier won 1–0 on aggregate.
| Steaua București | 5–0 | |
|---|---|---|
| Stan Dumitrescu Petrescu |
Report |
Steaua București won 6–1 on aggregate.
| Dynamo Kyiv | 4–0 | |
|---|---|---|
| Salenko Lytovchenko Yuran |
Report |
Dynamo Kyiv won 6–2 on aggregate.
| Dukla Prague | 2–0 | |
|---|---|---|
| Walker Záleský |
Report |
Dukla Prague won 4–1 on aggregate.
| Djurgårdens IF | 1–1 | |
|---|---|---|
| Martinsson |
Report | Ormslev |
Fram won 4–1 on aggregate.
| Barcelona | 7–2 | |
|---|---|---|
| Begiristain Amor Koeman Stoichkov |
Report | Hami Boz |
Barcelona won 7–3 on aggregate.
RFC Liège won 5–0 on aggregate.
| Neuchâtel Xamax | 1–1 (a.e.t.) | |
|---|---|---|
| Sutter |
Report | Valério |
| Penalties | ||
| Sutter Gigon Fernandez Froidevaux Egli |
3–4 | |
2–2 on aggregate. Estrela da Amadora won 4–3 on penalties.
Austria Wien won 2–0 on aggregate.
| Juventus | 6–1 | |
|---|---|---|
| Baggio Schillaci Corini Bonetti Júlio César |
Report | Kelepov |
Juventus won 8–1 on aggregate.
Second round
| Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aberdeen |
0–1 | 0–0 | 0–1 | |
| Olympiacos |
1–4 | 0–1 | 1–3 | |
| Manchester United |
5–0 | 3–0 | 2–0 | |
| Montpellier |
8–0 | 5–0 | 3–0 | |
| Dynamo Kyiv |
3–2 | 1–0 | 2–2 | |
| Fram |
1–5 | 1–2 | 0–3 | |
| RFC Liège |
2–1 | 2–0 | 0–1 | |
| Austria Wien |
0–8 | 0–4 | 0–4 |
First leg
| Olympiacos | 0–1 | |
|---|---|---|
| Report | Katanec |
| Montpellier | 5–0 | |
|---|---|---|
| Ziober Xuereb Blanc Castro |
Report |
| Dynamo Kyiv | 1–0 | |
|---|---|---|
| Lytovchenko |
Report |
| RFC Liège | 2–0 | |
|---|---|---|
| Malbaša Milošević |
Report |
Second leg
| Legia Warsaw | 1–0 | |
|---|---|---|
| Iwanicki |
Report |
Legia Warsaw won 1–0 on aggregate.
| Sampdoria | 3–1 | |
|---|---|---|
| Lombardo Branca |
Report | Drakopoulos |
Sampdoria won 4–1 on aggregate.
| Wrexham | 0–2 | |
|---|---|---|
| Report | Robins Bruce |
Manchester United won 5–0 on aggregate.
| Steaua București | 0–3 | |
|---|---|---|
| Report | Colleter Garande Guérin |
Montpellier won 8–0 on aggregate.
| Dukla Prague | 2–2 | |
|---|---|---|
| Foldyna Bittengel |
Report | Yuran |
Dynamo Kyiv won 3–2 on aggregate.
Barcelona won 5–1 on aggregate.
| Estrela da Amadora | 1–0 | |
|---|---|---|
| Duílio |
Report |
RFC Liège won 2–1 on aggregate.
Juventus won 8–0 on aggregate.
Quarter-finals
| Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Legia Warsaw |
3–2 | 1–0 | 2–2 | |
| Manchester United |
3–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | |
| Dynamo Kyiv |
3–4 | 2–3 | 1–1 | |
| RFC Liège |
1–6 | 1–3 | 0–3 |
First leg
| Legia Warsaw | 1–0 | |
|---|---|---|
| Czykier |
Report |
| Manchester United | 1–1 | |
|---|---|---|
| McClair |
Report | Martin |
| Dynamo Kyiv | 2–3 | |
|---|---|---|
| Zayets Salenko |
Report | Bakero Urbano Stoichkov |
Second leg
| Montpellier | 0–2 | |
|---|---|---|
| Report | Blackmore Bruce |
Manchester United won 3–1 on aggregate.
Legia Warsaw won 3–2 on aggregate.
| Barcelona | 1–1 | |
|---|---|---|
| Amor |
Report | Yuran |
Barcelona won 4–3 on aggregate.
Juventus won 6–1 on aggregate.
Semi-finals
| Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Legia Warsaw |
2–4 | 1–3 | 1–1 | |
| Barcelona |
3–2 | 3–1 | 0–1 |
First leg
| Legia Warsaw | 1–3 | |
|---|---|---|
| Cyzio |
Report | McClair Hughes Bruce |
Second leg
| Manchester United | 1–1 | |
|---|---|---|
| Sharpe |
Report | Kowalczyk |
Manchester United won 4–2 on aggregate.
Barcelona won 3–2 on aggregate.
Final
| Manchester United | 2–1 | |
|---|---|---|
| Hughes |
Report | Koeman |
Top goalscorers
The top scorers from the 1990–91 European Cup Winners' Cup are as follows: