Treble tales: Beckham the assist king

The homegrown product even sat out the highest-scoring match of the run, the 6-2 battering of Brondby, but was instrumental in the final leg of the Treble triumph and fed in a stream of inviting of balls from the flank.

In the home game against Barcelona on 16 September, he played a leading role in an absolute thriller that ended 3-3. A gorgeous cross on the run after getting past Sergi provided the headed opener for Ryan Giggs and chalked up his first assist of the run. After his cross ultimately led to Paul Scholes’s second, once Andy Cole’s acrobatic effort was saved, he scored a trademark free-kick for United’s third strike.

A 2-2 draw followed at Bayern Munich and it was Beckham’s right-wing cross, despite being fouled as he made contact with the ball, that yielded Dwight Yorke’s far-post leveller. He may have missed the demolition in Denmark but was back for the Old Trafford leg as the Reds racked up a 5-0 triumph over Brondby. After opening the scoring with another free-kick, he teased in a centre for Yorke to head number four and took a quick set-piece that led to Scholes’s solo strike.

Another 3-3 cracker at the Nou Camp featured Beckham playing the pass that led to the amazing Yorke-Cole combination for one of the goals and the England international supplied a near-post cross for Yorke to stoop to head the third United effort.

When Yorke bagged a double in the brilliant 2-0 victory over Inter Milan at Old Trafford in the knockout stages, there were carbon-copy efforts – both headers from perfectly delivered centres from Becks’ right-wing slot. Come the big semi-final second leg at Juventus, the midfielder’s corner from the left allowed Roy Keane to nod home and spark a memorable comeback.

Of course, it goes without saying that Beckham’s Man-of-the-Match display in the final against Bayern Munich included his two corners that led to the late goals, which turned the game on its head and won the trophy for Sir Alex Ferguson’s side.