Remembering Manchester United’s 1999 treble-winning side

On Saturday night (June 10), the iconic Manchester United team of 1999’s fate will hang in the balance as their cross-city rivals Manchester City can match the Sir Alex Ferguson-managed side’s incredible feat of winning the treble. 

Roy Keane, David Beckham, Paul Scholes and company became the first English team to lift the Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League in the same season in ’99 — an achievement that has stood alone ever since. 

However, Pep Guardiola’s men are on the brink of emulating that success over two decades on as the Sky Blues reined in long-time leaders Arsenal and ultimately pulled clear of the Gunners to win their third successive Premier League title before beating Man United 2-1 in the FA Cup final.

The last leg of the treble will see the Etihad outfit take on Italian side Inter Milan in the European Cup final at the Ataturk Olympic Stadium on Saturday and Manchester City are as short as 2/9 in the Champions League winner odds to lift what will be their first continental title. 

A lot will be made of Man City’s accomplishments should they complete the treble and questions will be asked if the legacy of 1999 is tarnished somewhat by their noisy neighbours’ success. We can come to that after the final, for now though, let’s take a look back at Man United’s treble success 24 years ago.

Premier League

There have been many iconic battles between Manchester United and Arsenal in the Premier League era, and the 1998-99 season was one of them. The Gunners had ripped the title away from Old Trafford the year before, winning the league by a single point, but the Red Devils got revenge by beating Arsene Wenger’s side by the same margin in 1999.

It was actually a three-way battle for the league with Chelsea also involved in a fight that would go down to the wire. Five wins in a row sent Man United to the top of the league in February and they went unbeaten for the rest of the campaign, but just one defeat for Chelsea and Arsenal meant the standings were still fluctuating all the way. 

Just one point separated Man United and Arsenal on the final day, but both won with victories over Aston Villa and Tottenham Hotspur respectively to confirm the trophy was heading back up north. Chelsea finished four points behind. 

FA Cup

Manchester United faced Middlesbrough in the third round of the FA Cup, coming back from behind to beat them 3-1 at Old Trafford. The Red Devils fought back from behind again against Liverpool after Michael Owen headed the Reds in front to win 2-1 before being held to a 0-0 draw at home to Chelsea. 

Man United would beat the Blues 2-0 at Stamford Bridge thanks to a Dwight Yorke double. The Red Devils’ run would only get harder with Arsenal awaiting them in the semi-finals. The first encounter ended 0-0 after extra time, but Man United ran out 2-1 the additional 30 minutes in the replay. 

Man United faced Newcastle United in the final at Wembley and beat the Magpies 2-0 at the London venue thanks to goals from Teddy Sheringham early in the first half and Scholes in the second half. 

Champions League

The Red Devils were drawn in the ‘group of death’ alongside Bundesliga side Bayern Munich, La Liga giants Barcelona and Danish outfit Brondby, but managed to secure second behind Bayern after drawing both their games with the Germans and the Spaniards while comfortably beating Brondby home and away.

Man United then beat Inter Milan (3-1) and Juventus (4-3) to book their place against their Group D rivals Bayern Munich in the European Cup final. Bayern looked set to be crowned champions as they were 1-0 up when the clock hit 90, but Sheringham and Ole Gunner Solskjaer both scored in injury time in what is one of the most dramatic finishes in Champions League history.

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