1996 FA Cup Final
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| Event | 1995–96 FA Cup | ||||||
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| Date | 11 May 1996 | ||||||
| Venue | Wembley Stadium, London | ||||||
| Referee | Dermot Gallagher (Oxfordshire) | ||||||
| Attendance | 79,007 | ||||||
The 1996 FA Cup Final was the 51st to be held at Wembley Stadium after the Second World War and was held between two of the biggest rivals in English football, Manchester United and Liverpool.
A few days before the final, Manchester United had secured their third league title in four years (1992–93, 1993–94 and 1995–96, coming second in 1994–95). The final was also their third in three seasons, having beaten Chelsea 4–0 in 1994 and lost 1–0 to Everton in 1995.
Liverpool, on the other hand, were going through a barren spell in terms of trophies, having not won the league title since 1989–90 or an FA Cup since 1992, although they had tasted success in the League Cup in 1995.
Liverpool and Manchester United were the two top scoring sides in the FA Premier League in this season, and entered the game as the most attacking sides in English football, with Liverpool winning their last meeting 2–0 at Anfield, and United equalising at Old Trafford to get a 2–2 draw in the reverse fixture, with Robbie Fowler scoring all four of Liverpool's goals against United in both meetings.
The match, despite the rivalry between the two teams, was a fairly unmemorable game, rarely sparking into life, with playmakers Eric Cantona and Steve McManaman, marked and closed out by Jamie Redknapp and John Barnes and Roy Keane and Nicky Butt respectively. Keane went on to stop virtually every attack the Liverpool midfield threw at United, and covering as commentator Peter Brackley described, "every blade of grass", to win the man of the match award.
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