How the season unfolded
Manchester United: Sir Alex Ferguson’s team were masters of harum-scarum wins in defining matches. To claim the Premier League on the final day Tottenham had to be defeated but after 24 minutes a Les Ferdinand goal stunned Old Trafford before United, in blazing sunshine, staged a memorable comeback via David Beckham and Andy Cole. In the FA Cup fourth round United were 1-0 down to Liverpool until the 88th minute, then finishes from Dwight Yorke and Ole Gunnar Solskjær knocked out their great rivals. In semi-final extra time Ryan Giggs’s wonder solo effort eliminated Arsenal and in the Champions League semi-final second leg in Turin Juventus pulled 2-0 ahead on the night (3-1 on aggregate) via a Filippo Inzaghi double before a Roy Keane-inspired turnaround beat the Italian club. Then there was the cartoon-like end to the final: down 1-0 in added time to Bayern Munich, the substitutes Teddy Sheringham and Solskjær scored to put United in dreamland and clinch the treble.
