Official records from these matches are sketchy at best, and are often extrapolated from newspaper reports at the time.

The answer to the first issue was Tottenham striker Teddy Sheringham, who was signed in the summer of 1997, while David Beckham would take up the mantle of the iconic 7 shirt. The last day of the league season saw United at home to Tottenham Hotspur and, despite falling 1-0 behind, goals from Beckham and Cole pulled United ahead and sealed a fifth league title under the stewardship of Alex Ferguson. Before Barcelona, however, there was a Premier League title battle to be concluded, and an FA Cup final to be played. Paul Ince, Mark Hughes, and Andrei Kanchelskis (who was the club's top scorer the previous season) all departed the club. With Andrew Cole also now firmly established in the team, Alex Ferguson was building an arsenal of attacking players.Blackmore featured in almost 200 appearances for the Old Trafford giants and played 39 times for Wales.

Meanwhile, goals from Pogba and Henrikh Mkhitaryan in the final against Ajax would win the club the Europa League for the first ever time. Great teams have adorned the Premier League, from Manchester United’s 1998-99 Treble winners to Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea, and Liverpool and Manchester City in recent years. Just two minutes later, Solskjaer would pop up with the most important goal of his career to seal one of the most mind-boggling comebacks in football history.The 75 point tally that United racked up is the lowest for any Premier League-winning team - though the three teams behind them all tied on 68 points, suggesting a closely-matched battle. Time was ticking on Manchester City’s title dream with QPR offering brave resistance at the Etihad Stadium.

Jose Mourinho’s Blues went on to win 2-0, and Manchester City ended up pipping Liverpool by two points.Virgil van Dijk is unwilling to commit his future to Liverpool after Jurgen Klopp's exit, with just 18. The pressure was building on Sir Alex Ferguson and Manchester United, as a 26-year wait for title glory threatened to slip away. The summer of 2021 brought huge promise, as Manchester United signed four-time Champions League winner and World Cup winner Raphael Varane from Real Madrid, and long-term target Jadon Sancho from Borussia Dortmund.

You look at that Manchester United lineup today, Aston Villa would have been looking at the teamsheet and it would have given them a lift. When the group stage draw put United in a group with Bayern Munich, Barcelona, and Brondby in 1998-99, it looked as though more struggles were inbound.Just six minutes in, Ferguson's side had once again made things difficult for themselves, with Mario Basler giving Bayern an early lead at the Camp Nou.