History repeated itself in more ways than one on Sunday as Manchester United defeated Newcastle in a domestic cup final at Wembley.
It was the first Wembley meeting between United and Newcastle since the 1999 FA Cup final at the old national stadium, when Teddy Sheringham and Paul Scholes scored in another 2-0 victory.
Those of you who love trivia might have noticed a common theme – and not just the scoreline.
Our goalscorers in 2023 and 1999 both wore the no.18 and no.10 shirts for United.
Each of the Wembley wins over Newcastle also featured a goalscorer from our legendary Academy, in Rashford and Scholes.
Another notable similarity between the two finals is the presence of Steve McClaren, who was Alex Ferguson’s assistant manager back then and a huge influence on what became the Treble season.
McClaren returned to United last summer to work as Ten Hag’s assistant coach, after previously working together at FC Twente.
Along with the rest of our talented coaching staff, the former England boss is working relentlessly to bring success back to our club and he proudly posed with the trophy during our flight home to Manchester.
In case you missed it, our iconic former manager spoke to Sky Sports on the day and expressed his admiration for the work that Erik is doing this season.
“United is based on success and he's gone the right way about it,”said Sir Alex.
“His signings have been really good - I think that was important - and he's got a grip of the club which is really big for him. You come to United and you try to get off to a good start right away. He's done really well, he really has.”
Sir Alex also heaped praise on Rashford's form this season.
“He is fantastic, his finishing is always good and he always keeps his shots down which is really important for a striker,”
said the boss. “He's in a great vein of form.”