Season 1990–91 UEFA Cup 1991–92 Liverpool | European Cup 1991–92 Arsenal | |
 | ||
Champions Arsenal (10th English title) Relegated Derby County
Sunderland FA Cup winners
European Cup Winners' Cup 1991–92 Tottenham Hotspur (8th FA Cup title)
Manchester United (defending champions) | ||
Statistics of Football League First Division in the 1990-91 season.
Contents
Overview
Arsenal took their second league title in three seasons despite a season during which it often looked as though the good points would be outnumbered by the bad points. A player brawl in a league fixture against Manchester United in October saw Arsenal have two points deducted, and a few weeks later captain Tony Adams was given a four-month prison sentence for drink-driving (he ended up serving 8 weeks). But Arsenal managed to keep up a great run of form throughout the season and were crowned league champions having lost just one league game all season long.
On May 6, 1991, Arsenal were crowned champions after beating Manchester United 3-1 and hearing the news that their title challengers Liverpool who finished 2nd, lost 2-1 to Nottingham Forest. Liverpool had led the table for much of the first half of the season but were shell-shocked in February by the sudden resignation of manager Kenny Dalglish. Rangers boss Graeme Souness was brought in as his successor but was unable to bring a major trophy to Anfield. Third place in the league went to Crystal Palace, who occupied their highest-ever finish, but were denied qualification for the UEFA Cup due to Liverpool being readmitted to European competition a year earlier than anticipated.
Newly promoted Leeds United had a good season back in the First Division as they finished fourth but never really looked like challenging for the title. They did, however, reach the semi-finals of the League Cup, where they lost to Manchester United.
Down at the bottom end of the table, Derby County finished bottom with just five wins all season despite the 17 league goals of Welsh striker Dean Saunders, who was then sold to Liverpool. Their relegation was confirmed on April 20, 1991, after losing 2-1 at Manchester City. The final relegation place went to Sunderland on the last day of the season who lost 3-2 to Manchester City which meant that Luton Town stayed up by beating already-relegated Derby County 2-0.
League standings
First Division Results
Source:
1 ^ The home team is listed in the left-hand column.
Colours: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.