The 1977–78 UEFA Cup was the seventh season of the UEFA Cup, the third-tier club football competition organised by UEFA. The final was played over two legs at the Stade Armand-Cesari, Furiani, France, and at the Philips Stadion, Eindhoven, the Netherlands. It was won by PSV Eindhoven of the Netherlands, who defeated Bastia of France by an aggregate result of 3–0 to claim their first UEFA Cup title. Playing in their first European final, PSV Eindhoven became the latest of the Grote Drie trio of big Dutch teams to win a European title. On the other hand, Bastia was the only French team to reach a UEFA Cup final until 1996.

Association team allocation

A total of 64 teams from 31 UEFA member associations participate in the 1977–78 UEFA Cup. The original allocation scheme was as follows: Poland and Switzerland were the two associations selected to have a third berth for this season, while Hungary and Romania went back to two qualified teams.

Teams

The labels in the parentheses show how each team qualified for competition:

Schedule

The schedule of the competition was as follows. Matches were scheduled for Wednesdays, except for five matches that were held on a Tuesday; one of them was the second leg of the final.

First round

First leg

UEFA invalidated this game and awarded a 3–0 victory to Schalke 04 as Fiorentina fielded an ineligible player, Gianfranco Casarsa.

Second leg

Eintracht Frankfurt won 5–0 on aggregate. AZ Alkmaar won 16–1 on aggregate. Aston Villa won 6–0 on aggregate. Barcelona won 8–2 on aggregate. Bastia won 5–3 on aggregate. Bayern Munich won 12–0 on aggregate. Lazio won 5–1 on aggregate. Newcastle United won 4–0 on aggregate. Carl Zeiss Jena won 6–5 on aggregate. KB won 3–1 on aggregate. Schalke 04 won 5–1 on aggregate. Grasshoppers won 8–1 on aggregate. PSV Eindhoven won 11–2 on aggregate. Górnik Zabrze won 5–3 on aggregate. Dinamo Tbilisi won 1–0 on aggregate. 1–1 on aggregate, Eintracht Braunschweig won on away goals. Ipswich Town won 6–0 on aggregate. Las Palmas won 8–4 on aggregate. Lens won 4–3 on aggregate. Újpest won 9–3 on aggregate. Magdeburg won 3–2 on aggregate. Dinamo Zagreb won 6–4 on aggregate. 2–2 on aggregate, Widzew Łódź won on away goals rule. Marek Dupnitsa won 3–2 on aggregate. Inter Bratislava won 3–1 on aggregate. R.W.D. Molenbeek won 2–1 on aggregate. Athletic Bilbao won 2–1 on aggregate. 3–3 on aggregate, Standard Liège won on away goals rule. Start won 8–0 on aggregate. AEK Athens won 3–1 on aggregate. Torino won 4–1 on aggregate. Zürich won 2–1 on aggregate.

Second round

First leg

Second leg

Standard Liège won 6–3 on aggregate. 2–2 on aggregate, Barcelona won in a penalty shoot-out. Aston Villa won 3–1 on aggregate. Bastia won 5–2 on aggregate. Bayern Munich won 3–2 on aggregate. Grasshoppers won 5–2 on aggregate. Ipswich Town won 4–3 on aggregate. Dinamo Tbilisi won 6–2 on aggregate. Lens won 6–2 on aggregate. Magdeburg won 7–3 on aggregate. 2–2 on aggregate, Carl Zeiss Jena won in a penalty shoot-out. Eintracht Braunschweig won 4–1 on aggregate. Torino won 3–2 on aggregate. Athletic Bilbao won 3–2 on aggregate. PSV Eindhoven won 6–3 on aggregate. Eintracht Frankfurt won 7–3 on aggregate.

Third round

First leg

Second leg

Aston Villa won 3–1 on aggregate. Bastia won 5–3 on aggregate. Carl Zeiss Jena won 4–1 on aggregate. Eintracht Frankfurt won 6–1 on aggregate. 3–3 on aggregate, Barcelona won in a penalty shoot-out. Magdeburg won 4–2 on aggregate. PSV Eindhoven won 4–1 on aggregate. Grasshoppers won 4–1 on aggregate.

Quarter-finals

First leg

Second leg

Barcelona won 4–3 on aggregate. Bastia won 9–6 on aggregate. PSV Eindhoven won 4–3 on aggregate. 3–3 on aggregate, Grasshoppers won on away goals rule.

Semi-finals

First leg

Second leg

3–3 on aggregate, Bastia won on away goals rule. PSV won 4–3 on aggregate.

Final

First leg

Second leg

PSV Eindhoven won 3–0 on aggregate