Manchester United: 30 Years of the Premier League

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Ad Feature Ollie Pope and Tom Hartley starred as England snatched an unlikely victory in the opening Test against India. Manchester United were left without the man who had brought them a remarkable 13 Premier League titles and two European Cups, and left scrambling for a replacement. Neighbours United had won 1-0 at Sunderland and City knew only victory would secure a first title success in 44 years.

They also competed in the Champions League for the 15th season in a row, and contested the final with Barcelona on 28 May 2011, losing 3–1. The FA Cup final pitted United against their bitter rivals Liverpool and captain Cantona was once again the hero. The decision to pull out brought disappointed comment from not only figures within the football world, but as far up as British Prime Minister Tony Blair. In 1992, the Football League split, with the top clubs restructuring the First Division into a new competition known as the Premier League. In one of the biggest shocks in English football history, Alex Ferguson announced a sudden retirement from the game in the direct aftermath of the 2013 title win.Just two minutes later, Solskjaer would pop up with the most important goal of his career to seal one of the most mind-boggling comebacks in football history. The major signing of van Persie had been vindicated, and Ferguson had United back on top of the English game. Solskjaer oversaw an initial upturn in form, the highlight of which was a stunning comeback win against PSG in the Champions League last 16.

Despite their recent dominance, the blue half of Manchester have spent five seasons outside of the top-flight and even slipped into the third tier in 1998-99, meaning they've played just 962 Prem games. Manchester United's iconic Class of 1992-93 celebrated a very special anniversary as the players reunited to share memories of winning the very first Premier League title. They would become pillars of the United squad of the mid-2000s and would soon be joined by a young Portuguese winger who would take Beckham's number 7 shirt by the name of Cristiano Ronaldo.Unfortunately for Keane, both he and Paul Scholes picked up yellow cards which would see them suspended for the Champions League final. Edin Dzeko levelled in stoppage time and then the ball fell to the right foot of Sergio Aguero in the fifth added minute.