United's past games at the Principality Stadium

However, in the early 2000s, it was a regular occurrence for the Reds to visit the Welsh capital.

In fact, for seven seasons, the Principality Stadium - know then as the Millennium Stadium - acted as a temporary host to England’s domestic cup finals while Wembley was being rebuilt.

As a result, between 2001 and 2006, United played at the 74,000-seater arena on eight occasions.

The first of those came in the 2001 Community Shield, when the Reds suffered defeat at the hands of arch-rivals Liverpool, going down 2-1 to the Merseysiders.

Two years later, United again competed in the annual season curtain-raiser in Cardiff, when we faced Arsenal - the team we’ve locked horns with the most times at the ground (three). 

Mikael Silvestre grabbed a rare goal for the Reds that afternoon in a game that finished 1-1 before Paul Scholes, Rio Ferdinand, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Diego Forlan converted penalties in the shootout as Sir Alex’s Ferguson’s men overcame Arsene Wenger’s Gunners.

However, the London outfit got the better of us 12 months later, when Arsenal won 3-1 in the Community Shield.

United have also played three games in the FA Cup at the Principality Stadium, including the 2004 final against Millwall which we won 3-0 thanks to a Cristiano Ronaldo strike and a Ruud van Nistelrooy double.

The following year, we also won by three goals, this time in the semi-finals against Newcastle United, as we prevailed 4-1. However, in the subsequent final a few weeks later, Arsenal won 5-4 on penalties after a goalless stalemate in 120 minutes.

United have also competed in two League Cup finals in the Welsh capital as well. The first ended in disappointment following a 2-0 loss to Liverpool in 2003, but the second was a more enjoyable occasion as we thumped Wigan Athletic 4-0. 

That 2006 clash was, in fact, our most recent trip to the stadium, when Wayne Rooney (2), Louis Saha and Ronaldo were on target for the Reds.

However, while we have not visited the Principality Stadium for 13 years, we have made the journey to Cardiff more recently.

Our last game in the city was quite a memorable one, as United won 5-1 against Cardiff City in Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s first game as United manager, initially as caretaker boss. 

OUR PREVIOUS GAMES AT THE PRINCIPALITY

2001 Community Shield: United 1-2 Liverpool
2003 League Cup final: United 0-2 Liverpool
2003 Community Shield: United 1-1 Arsenal (United won 4-3 on penalties)
2004 FA Cup final: United 3-0 Millwall
2004 Community Shield: United 1-3 Arsenal
2005 FA Cup semi-final: United 4-1 Newcastle
2005 FA Cup final: United 0-0 Arsenal (Arsenal won 5-4 on penalties)
2006 League Cup final: United 4-0 Wigan Athletic

OUR OVERALL RECORD

Played: 8
Won: 3
Drawn: 2
Lost: 3 
 
ALL SCORERS AT THE STADIUM: 

Ruud van Nistelrooy: 5 goals 
Cristiano Ronaldo: 3 goals 
Wayne Rooney: 2 goals 
Louis Saha: 1 goal 
Paul Scholes: 1 goal 
Mikael Silvestre: 1 goal 
Alan Smith: 1 goal 

United v AC Milan in Cardiff will be shown live on MUTV, with kick-off on Saturday at 17:36 BST.

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