The 1990–91 UEFA Cup was the 20th season of the UEFA Cup, the secondary club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA). The final was played over two legs at San Siro, Milan, Italy, and at the Stadio Olimpico, Rome, Italy. The competition was won by Internazionale, who defeated fellow Italian team Roma by an aggregate result of 2–1 to claim their first UEFA Cup title. For the second consecutive year, two Italian teams reached the final of the UEFA Cup, This was the first European title for Internazionale in 26 years, after their two consecutive European Cup triumphs in 1964 and 1965. This tournament also marked the return of English clubs, after a five-year ban resulting from the Heysel Stadium disaster in 1985.

Association team allocation

A total of 64 teams from 32 UEFA member associations participated in the 1990–91 UEFA Cup, all entering from the first round over six knock-out rounds. The association ranking based on the UEFA country coefficients is used to determine the number of participating teams for each association:

Association ranking

For the 1990–91 UEFA Cup, the associations are allocated places according to their 1989 UEFA country coefficients, which takes into account their performance in European competitions from 1984–85 to 1988–89. Having returned to European competitions after serving its five-year ban, England's score was limited to the first of the five seasons accounted for in the ranking, and only one English club competed in the UEFA Cup, from a previous total of four.

Teams

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

Schedule

The schedule of the competition was as follows. Matches were scheduled for Wednesdays, though some matches exceptionally took place on Tuesdays or Thursdays.

First round

First leg

Second leg

Borussia Dortmund won 4–0 on aggregate. 3–3 on aggregate; Real Sociedad won on away goals. Admira Wacker won 4–0 on aggregate. Luzern won 3–2 on aggregate. Vitesse won 1–0 on aggregate. Bordeaux won 2–0 on aggregate.

1. FC Magdeburg won 1–0 on aggregate. Roma won 2–0 on aggregate. Aston Villa won 5–2 on aggregate. 1–1 on aggregate; Atalanta won on away goals. Bayer Leverkusen won 2–1 on aggregate. Brøndby won 6–4 on aggregate. Inter Bratislava won 6–2 on aggregate. Chornomorets Odesa won 4–3 on aggregate. Heart of Midlothian won 4–2 on aggregate. Torpedo Moscow won 5–2 on aggregate. Politehnica Timișoara won 2–1 on aggregate. Fenerbahçe won 6–2 on aggregate. Dundee United won 5–3 on aggregate. GKS Katowice won 4–0 on aggregate. Partizan won 5–0 on aggregate. Köln won 3–1 on aggregate. Valencia won 2–0 on aggregate. Universitatea Craiova won 2–0 on aggregate. Omonia won 5–4 on aggregate. Ferencváros won 3–1 on aggregate. Anderlecht won 4–0 on aggregate. Monaco won 6–2 on aggregate. 0–0 on aggregate; Sevilla won 4–3 on penalties. Internazionale won 4–3 on aggregate. Sporting CP won 3–2 on aggregate. Bologna won 2–0 on aggregate.

Second round

First leg

Second leg

Köln won 2–1 on aggregate. Borussia Dortmund won 4–0 on aggregate. Bordeaux won 2–0 on aggregate. Anderlecht won 4–1 on aggregate. Internazionale won 3–2 on aggregate. Brøndby won 4–0 on aggregate. Monaco won 1–0 on aggregate. Admira Wacker won 2–1 on aggregate. Torpedo Moscow won 4–3 on aggregate. Atalanta won 5–1 on aggregate. Bayer Leverkusen won 6–1 on aggregate. Bologna won 4–3 on aggregate. Sporting CP won 7–2 on aggregate. Roma won 3–2 on aggregate. Vitesse won 5–0 on aggregate. 1–1 on aggregate; Partizan won 4–3 on penalties.

Third round

First leg

Second leg

Brøndby won 3–0 on aggregate. Torpedo Moscow won 4–2 on aggregate. Atalanta won 2–1 on aggregate. Roma won 7–0 on aggregate. Internazionale won 4–1 on aggregate. 2–2 on aggregate; Anderlecht won on away goals. 3–3 aggregate; Bologna won 6–5 on penalties. Sporting CP won 4–1 on aggregate.

Quarter-finals

First leg

Second leg

Roma won 6–2 on aggregate. Internazionale won 2–0 on aggregate. Sporting CP won 3–1 on aggregate. 1–1 on aggregate; Brøndby won 4–2 on penalties.

Semi-finals

First leg

Second leg

Roma won 2–1 on aggregate. Internazionale won 2–0 on aggregate.

Final

First leg

Second leg

Internazionale won 2–1 on aggregate.