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Manchester United have a glorious history in the FA Cup. If the Red Devils manage to win today, it will be their 13th triumph and only Arsenal will have more cups, as they sit on 14.
United won the famous old trophy for the first time in the 1908/09 season when they beat Bristol City 1-0 and have not looked back since.
However, the last few years have not been so kind to the side from Old Trafford as they have lost four out of their previous five cup finals, dating back to 2004.
Nonetheless, despite the recent heartbreak, United fans have been spoiled with FA Cup memories over the years and this is a countdown to the club’s five best finals.
5) Manchester United 1-0 Liverpool 1996
A cup final victory against your bitter rivals is always sweet, however in reality this game was quite a drab affair. The match is usually remembered for Liverpool turning up in questionable all-white suits more than what happened on the pitch.
However, United would seize the initiative in the 85th minute when David James came out to punch a corner away and Eric Cantona fired through a maze of players to nestle the ball into the net and send United fans into raptures.
It was a special moment for the Frenchman has he had been unable to play in the previous year’s final loss to Everton as he had been suspended for kicking a fan.
The match was also significant for United as they won the double double. Meaning they became the first English side to win an FA Cup and league double two times. Since then, Arsenal and Manchester City have both managed to do so.
4) Manchester United 4-0 Chelsea 1994
The early 1990s is certainly one of the best times for United fans to reflect upon as the team was filled to the brim with leaders such as Bryan Robson, Roy Keane, Paul Ince and Steve Bruce to name just a few. However, that side also had the finesse of Eric Cantona, Ryan Giggs and Andrei Kanchelskis.
The match itself was significantly more competitive than it looks as both sides were tied at 0-0 at the hour mark. However, two quickfire penalties by Eric Cantona were followed up a Mark Hughes strike to blitz the West Londoners with three goals in eight minutes.
Brian McClair added a late fourth and United were on their way to pick up the club’s first ever Premier League and FA Cup double.
3) Manchester United 2-1 Liverpool 1977
This final is perhaps a strange choice as the late 70s was hardly a golden era for the Red Devils trophy wise.
Whilst the aforementioned finals were in a decade of absolute dominance, United were very much second fiddle to their great rivals Liverpool in the 1970s. United had also suffered the embarrassment of the 1976 final, losing 0-1 to little fancied Southampton but responded in the perfect way, beating their old enemy.
To factor in the size of the achievement, United had only been relegated in 1974, therefore they were playing second division football just two years before the cup final. Moreover, Liverpool had won the league and they would go on to win the European Cup 3-1 against Borussia Mönchengladbach in 1977. On the other hand, United had finished in an uninspiring sixth place.
However, second half goals from Stuart Pearson and Jimmy Greenhoff were enough to give United an unexpected triumph over their all-conquering rivals.
The result is also significant as it stopped Liverpool completing the treble, which leads us onto final number two.
2) Manchester United 2-0 Newcastle United 1999
Once more this final does not take its place in our list due to the quality of the game, but more what it represented.
United suffered early on as the talismanic captain Roy Keane had to be subbed off, but an early goal from Teddy Sheringham just two minutes after coming onto the pitch calmed the nerves.
Paul Scholes added a second in the 53rd minute and United were home and dry after completing the second leg of their famous treble.
The win meant that United had won their third Premier League and FA Cup double of the decade, a feat no other team had achieved at that point. It also meant that the 98/99 squad would go down as the most cherished in the club’s history books as they grabbed a dramatic 2-1 victory over Bayern Munich in the Champions League final in Barcelona.
1) Manchester United 1-0 Crystal Palace 1990
Manchester United beating Palace in an FA Cup final is perhaps not the biggest surprise or achievement.
Especially when it is considered that this was a replay after already drawing the first match 3-3.
In fact, they only managed to get a replay thanks to a late second half of extra time goal by Mark Hughes.
The replay itself was won by a single goal by defender Lee Martin.
This United team was also far from vintage as they finished 13th in the old first division and also coincidentally had a negative goal difference of minus one, just like this season’s team. However, the final victory deserves to be number one because it was the catalyst of what would come after.
Had the Red Devils lost the final, it would have been three and a half years without a trophy for Sir Alex Ferguson and many people believe he could well have been sacked and the two decades of dominance United fans enjoyed thereafter, may never have occurred.
Ferguson would go on to win the European Cup Winner’s cup in 1991, the League Cup in 1992 and most crucially of all, the Premier League title in 1993 and the club’s first league in 26 years. The rest as they say, is history.
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