Match Rewind: Four monster United wins

Every couple of days we're asking you, the fans, to determine which of a quartet of matches from our fulsome archives should be shown in full, and for free, via the ManUtd.com homepage and our Official App.

 

This time, our theme is 'big wins', so whichever direction you choose to direct your vote, you're going to get plenty of bang for your buck. Let's cut to the chase, and reveal the four goal gluts available for your delectation...

 

 

Andy Cole had a relatively slow start to life at United after signing in a British-record transfer in January 1995. But he burst into life two months later, in a game that remains the most devastating defeat in Premier League history – though Leicester equalled it at Southampton earlier this season. The 'goal king' fired home five on this raucous afternoon in M16, while Mark Hughes got two and midfielders Roy Keane and Paul Ince bagged a goal apiece, leaving the visitors and their unlucky goalkeeper, Craig Forrest, humiliated. Only six months earlier, the Tractor Boys had beaten United 3-2 at Portman Road, so this one simply has to be marked down as an exceptional afternoon from a truly great United side.

 

Do United just have a grudge against trees? Our first game saw the unfortunate Forrest watching the goals swirl past him, and this time Nottingham Forest are in the firing line. Incredibly, this game was just 2-1 at half-time, but things really took a turn for the ridiculous when Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was introduced with just 18 minutes left on the clock, and United already leading 4-1 thanks to doubles from Cole and Yorke. "Just keep it simple," were the instructions, more or less, from United coach Jim Ryan, but the Norwegian never liked to pass up an opportunity to nab a few goals for himself – or to show the manager that he was worthy of a place in the starting line-up. He made the point emphatically here, with a brutal display of finishing that earned him four goals in a manic 12-minute spell. Just a few months later, his goal would seal the Treble for the club: vote for this match if you want to see that side at their destructive and free-flowing best.

 

A year later, United were at it again. And who was in goal for West Ham? You guessed it: Mr Forrest. In reality, there was little the former Ipswich goalie could do here. The marauding side that had won the Treble less than a year before seemed to be insulted by the Hammers' effrontery, when Paulo Wanchope slipped them into an early lead. Scholes quickly levelled, and then Forrest even saved a Denis Irwin penalty – only to see the rebound fall straight to the Irishman, who tapped home into the empty net. Cole made it 3-1 before half-time and, after that, the stabilisers were off. A lovely Scholes flick made it four, and then the impish midfield genius completed his hat-trick from the spot after Nicky Butt was brought down. Beckham and Solskjaer made it seventh heaven before full-time, sending Old Trafford delirious.

 

A blast from the very recent past is our fourth choice, and it's the biggest win since Sir Alex Ferguson departed as manager in 2013. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's Reds were 5-0 up by half-time in this comprehensive destruction of Tranmere in the fourth round of this season's FA Cup and, surprisingly, it was the defenders leading the charge! Captain Harry Maguire lashed home his first goal for the club with a dramatic 20-yarder to kick things off, before Diogo Dalot nabbed his own maiden strike in a red shirt soon after. A classic Jesse Lingard finish made it three just after 15 minutes, and a header from Phil Jones then made the game safe. A cracker from Martial brought up our fifth just before the break, and there was time for Mason Greenwood to get in on the act in the second period, via the penalty spot. The start of an 11-game unbeaten run before the coronavirus pandemic halted football, this was an excellent United performance and it was all the more impressive because of the kind of pitch it was played on!

 

You can select which of the four matches you want to see by voting in our Match Rewind live blog.

 

The vote closes at 16:00 BST on Saturday (11 April) and we’ll show the winning game in full, and for free, on the Official App and ManUtd.com at 19:00 BST later that evening.