The last 10 historic clashes between Barcelona and Manchester United – Part 2
The momentum had now shifted. Manchester United now had equaled the score on aggregate.
The United fans were delirious and were going ballistic when after another two minutes, Frank Stapleton nudged in an easy flick on onto the far post from a corner. United were up by three goals.
The Catalans had lost the tie leading 2-0 after the first leg. An era off footballing rivalry had just started.
European’s Cup Winners Cup Final, 1991: Manchester United 2-1 Barcelona
Following the end of the ban on English teams from participating in the European competitions, Barcelona met Manchester United for the third time. But this one was at a bigger stage with the trophy at stake.
Manchester United were already one up after having defeating the Catalans in the quarterfinals of the same competition 7 years ago. The Catalans, wounded by the earlier defeat, were seeking revenge but were without several key players.
Prolific goal scorer Hristo Stoichkov, influential midfielder Guillermo Amor and first choice goalkeeper Andoni Zubizarreta were all missing from the final.
Hristo Stoichkov was truly one of the most gifted Bulgarians of his time. He was nicknamed as ‘The Dagger’ and was famous for his temper on the football field. He has even received suspensions for his antics on the field, including a two-month suspension
when he stomped on a referee’s foot.
Although his off and on field antics landed Stoichkov in trouble more often than not, he was still a very influential player for his team and the news of his unavailability was a big blow for Barcelona. The team however, went into the field high on confidence.
The score remained deadlocked at nil nil in the first half. The second half was livelier but the score line remained the same for another 21 minutes before the Catalan nightmare, Bryan Robson came to haunt them again.
His brace against the Catalans 7 years ago was still fresh in their minds and this time he became the reason for the birth of another Catalan Boogeyman, Mark Hughes.
Bryan Robson lobbed a free kick into the penalty box and a United player attempted the header. However his luck was not to be and the attempt saw and unmarked Mark Hughes head the ball into the far post.
It wasn’t the first time Bryan Robson had haunted them and it surely wasn’t the last. A perfect through ball from Robson released Mark Hughes who rounded the keeper from a one on one situation and caressed the ball into the empty net. United got their second
and so did Hughes.
Barcelona had all to play for when Ronal Koeman fired a 30-yard attempt past the hopeless United goalkeeper. Manchester United however, held onto the lead and came out as the Champions. The first time an English team had won the cup after the lifting of the
ban.
1994 UEFA Champions League - Group stage: Barcelona 6-2 Manchester United (aggregate score)
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Barcelona-c38604, fresh from their 4-0 defeat to Milan in the final of 1993, were endlessly motivated. Facing difficulties after the new foreigners’ rule, which limited the number of foreign players in the club, they absolutely crushed Manchester United over the
two legs, winning the tie 6-2 on aggregate.
Article continued in Part 3…
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