The last time Man Utd and Newcastle contested a cup final

This season’s Carabao Cup final won’t be the first final Manchester United and Newcastle have contested, but it’s also been a fair while since they have done so.

The clubs are in similar places, looking to put disappointing spells behind them and establish themselves as two of the biggest and best sides in the country again.

That was very much the case for Newcastle when the pair last met in a cup final too, in the spring of 1999. After finishing second in the league two seasons in a row earlier in the decade, the Magpies had fallen down to mid-table and, managed by Ruud Gullit, looked to be a team on the decline. Their win over Tottenham in the FA Cup semi-final was their only victory in over a month.

Things couldn’t be more different for the team they’d face in the final, with a young United side, featuring the Class of ’92, just securing the league title and going for a historic treble.

Here’s how things panned out that day.

It was the underdogs that made the stronger start to the game, with Alan Shearer knocking the ball down for Nolberto Solano, who saw his volley saved by Peter Schmeichel…there were some pretty handy players on the pitch.

Things then got even more concerning for Alex Ferguson when Roy Keane picked up an injury in a challenge with Gary Speed, having to be taken off with Teddy Sheringham replacing him. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer moved onto the wing and David Beckham into central midfield.

Despite that setback though, Man Utd took the lead less than two minutes after that change. Sheringham made the instant impact, firing past Steve Harper after being played in by Paul Scholes.

Both the goalscorer and Andy Cole had chances to double their side’s lead before the end of the first half, with the Red Devils being the better team, but the duo couldn’t take them, meaning Newcastle entered the final 45 minutes in with a chance.

Just eight minutes after the restart though, Scholes and Sheringham linked up again to make it 2-0, swapping roles with the striker setting up the midfielder this time around.

Newcastle had their chances to get back into the game after that, with Silvio Maric missing the biggest of them, firing wide when through on goal.

Ultimately, they weren’t able to beat Schmeichel with any of their 11 efforts, getting just three of them on target, allowing their opponents to secure a domestic double.

Ferguson singled out Sheringham and Beckham for praise after the match, being impressed by the former’s impact off the bench and the…