Match Rewind: Choose the greatest Man Utd seven-goal thriller

Sir Alex’s side had taken the lead in just the eighth minute, through Scholes, only to see it cancelled out by Mark Viduka in the 20th minute. But before half-time, United had wrested control back, via two quickfire Solskjaer finishes. Then Beckham capped a sweeping counter-attack to make it four. But Leeds rallied admirably, via an Ian Harte free-kick and a Lee Bowyer header, to set up a grandstanding finish. They would ultimately fail to deny United, but it made for a breathless, topsy-turvy 90 minutes that had it all: superlative United forward play, and all the fire and brimstone we’ve come to expect from cross-Pennine clashes.

 

UNITED 4 NEWCASTLE 3 (2012/13)

 

Ferguson’s vintage of 2012/13 had proven themselves endlessly adept at coming from behind in the opening months of his final campaign as United manager, and our record 20th title would be built on an insatiable desire to gain maximum points in as many games as possible. Arguably the most dramatic of the eight we won from losing positions before the turn of the year was this Boxing Day encounter with Newcastle.

 

The relentless rain made it all the more dramatic, admittedly. Three times the Reds were behind, as James Perch, a Jonny Evans own goal and Papiss Cisse gave the Magpies a 3-2 lead with little over 20 minutes to go. But United’s stars of the season wouldn’t be denied. First, goal-machine Robin van Persie fired home to level the match at 3-3 and then, in the dying moments, the unsung hero of the campaign, Michael Carrick, floated an inviting ball into the box for Javier Hernandez to slot past Tim Krul. A riotously entertaining game, it put the Reds seven points clear at the top and made it clear to every other club in the league: Ferguson’s men weren’t going to be denied a reunion with the Premier League title.