Ahead of the potentially decisive clash between Manchester City and Arsenal at the Etihad, we’ve looked back at six previous ‘title deciders’, all but one of which involved Man Utd, with four proving pivotal.
Newcastle 0-1 Man Utd – 1995/96
The circumstances: Fergie’s United went to Newcastle on a Monday night having whittled down Newcastle’s 12-point lead – with a game in hand, too – to just four. Keegan’s Entertainers had lost and drawn in their previous two games but extending their advantage to seven points would have calmed the nerves on Tyneside as they chased their first title in 69 years.
The game: Newcastle burst out of the traps and had United pinned back for most of the first half. But Peter Schmeichel was in the way of everything the hosts threw at his goal. When they beat Schmeichel, the crossbar denied Philippe Albert. Then, early in the second half, they got Cantona’d…
The impact: There was still a quarter of the season left (was it really a title decider then?) but the smash-and-grab win galvanised United and made arses on Tyneside twitch terribly. Newcastle continued to cave, losing three and drawing two of their last 10 games, while United won seven of their nine, three by the same 1-0 (Cantona) scoreline. It went to the final day but United breezed past Boro while Newcastle drew with Spurs to give the Red Devils a four-point margin of victory.
Man Utd 0-1 Arsenal – 1997/98
The circumstances: United entered March with a 12-point lead, somewhat juiced by the fact they had played more games than Arsene Wenger’s men. By the time Arsenal went to Old Trafford, the Red Devils had seen that reduced to nine after a defeat to Sheffield Wednesday and a draw with West Ham in the two games prior the welcoming the Gunners.
The game: United were second best for much of it, with Tony Adams and Martin Keown passing every test the Red Devils posed. At the other end, Marc Overmars, Dennis Bergkamp and Nicolas Anelka caused United’s defence huge problems. It was Overmars who broke the deadlock by latching onto Anelka’s flick to coolly beat Schmeichel with 11 minutes remaining. United got desperate with Schmeichel, the big, daft Dane, pulling his hamstring while retreating to his own goal after a late dash forward.
The impact: The victory left Arsenal six points off United but in control of the title…
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