A 2-0 win over Newcastle at Wembley sealed a trophy for Manchester United and raised expectations that the club would go on to add further silverware to their collection.
The goalscorers? Teddy Sheringham and Paul Scholes. Last Sunday's repeat of that 1999 scoreline, which sealed Sir Alex Ferguson's side their second trophy of the season, allowed the Reds to end their near-six-year wait for silverware and has kept dreams of a quadruple alive. An omen for this squad to follow, perhaps, even if their chances in the league remain slim.
With Erik ten Hag's side still chasing success on multiple fronts this season, his players could do worse than to turn to the legendary squad of '99 as inspiration. And a win over Sunday's opponents Liverpool is credited by many as the day it all came together and United's players really began to believe the sky was the limit for them that year - while also being vital in helping set up that day at Wembley against Alan Shearer and co.
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The Reds had just started playing themselves back into form with a thumping 6-2 Premier League win over Leicester City the week before they met Liverpool in the FA Cup fourth round at Old Trafford. But Sir Alex's side still trailed Chelsea and Aston Villa in the league, had only just managed to navigate their way through a Champions League group that also contained Bayern Munich, Barcelona and Brondby - and now faced their old foes in the cup.
Sir Alex went with what he knew from the off - the 4-4-2 formation that was deployed so regularly and eventually led to the unrivalled success his side achieved that season. Peter Schmeichel started in goal behind a defence of Gary Neville, Jaap Stam, Henning Berg and Denis Irwin while the midfield that started the game had David Beckham, Nicky Butt, Roy Keane and Ryan Giggs in it.
There were no surprises up top, either, with red-hot duo Andy Cole and Dwight Yorke starting the game. Things appeared to be very promising.
Then, three minutes into the game, Vegard Heggem crossed for Michael Owen to leap and find the bottom left-hand corner of the net with a header. The goal left Sir Alex absolutely furious.
"It was a terrible start," the boss later fumed. "God almighty, you wouldn’t think a 5ft 6in striker would score with a header in the first minutes at Old Trafford. I wasn’t too pleased about that." The legendary United boss got the reaction he wanted out of his players, who went up the other end and would have scored if not for Paul Ince clearing off the line.
In the second half, Keane twice hit the post as it appeared it was going to be 'one of those days' for United. But Sir Alex had other plans.
"The manager was used to risk in those days," Irwin later recalled to Manchester United's in-house media. "He brought me off, put Ole [Gunnar Solskjaer] on and went three at the back, which he did quite regularly, to put an extra man up front. The manager was never afraid to gamble.
"Even in a league match, we have gone three at the back to get a result and even more so in the cups – we had thrown the kitchen sink at it and taken a risk. We were an attacking side, so sometimes it was the best way to go – particularly in a cup game – and that embodied what spirit there was in the team."
On came United's super-sub. Yet to hit the heights of his four-goal haul off the bench against Nottingham Forest, while that magical night in Barcelona was still four months off - but Sir Alex had his role as United's 'finisher' nailed down.
Speaking to Manchester United's in-house media in January 2021, Solskjaer said: "It was a hard-fought game, we struggled. I think we deserved to score goals earlier on, Roy had a left-foot strike hitting the post, we had so many chances."
With the extra man up front, United quickly began to push for the all-important equaliser. With the Reds on the front foot and just two minutes left on the clock, they were awarded a free-kick which was, of course, entrusted to Beckham to deliver.
He swung a cross over from the right for Cole to knock down for his partner in crime Yorke to tuck away. A combination that worked so well for United all season had been fruitful yet again.
But, with the prospect of a replay at Anfield looming, United continued pushing for a winner - and it was super-sub Solskjaer who bagged it.
Solskjaer added: "It was a free-kick we had, headed back square and we got to 1-1, that must have been in injury time as well, or close to.
"Then I managed to steal the ball off Scholesy and put the ball through [Jamie] Carragher’s legs and we won it. It was a fantastic atmosphere at Old Trafford."
The momentum the late win gave United proved vital - and instilled a belief in Sir Alex Ferguson's side that they really were unstoppable that season.
"After Christmas, it all started to click," said Gary Neville, "but the season really started with the Liverpool game. Coming back against them in the last minute in the FA Cup was massive. You can forget about the first half of the season – you always do at United, you never remember anything – but that was the game that started everything.
"From then on, everybody was right and everybody was at it."
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