1995–96 Manchester United F.C. season
Date Opponents H / A Result F-A Scorers Attendance League position
19 August 1995 Aston Villa A 1-3 Beckham 84 ' 34,655 19th
23 August 1995 West Ham United H 2-1 Scholes 50 ' , Keane 68 ' 31,966 5th
26 August 1995 Wimbledon H 3-1 Keane ( 2 ) 28 ' , 80 ' , Cole 60 ' 32,226 4th
28 August 1995 Blackburn Rovers A 2-1 Sharpe 46 ' , Beckham 67 ' 29,843 2nd
9 September 1995 Everton A 3-2 Sharpe ( 2 ) 3 ' , 49 ' , Giggs 74 ' 39,496 2nd
16 September 1995 Bolton Wanderers H 3-0 Scholes ( 2 ) 18 ' , 86 ' , Giggs 34 ' 32,812 1st
23 September 1995 Sheffield Wednesday A 0-0 34,101 3rd
1 October 1995 Liverpool H 2-2 Butt 2 ' , Cantona 71 ' ( pen . ) 34,934 3rd
14 October 1995 Manchester City H 1-0 Scholes 5 ' 35,707 2nd
21 October 1995 Chelsea A 4-1 Scholes ( 2 ) 4 ' , 10 ' , Giggs 78 ' , McClair 85 ' 31,019 2nd
28 October 1995 Middlesbrough H 2-0 Pallister 44 ' , Cole 88 ' 36,580 2nd
4 November 1995 Arsenal A 0-1 38,317 2nd
18 November 1995 Southampton H 4-1 Giggs ( 2 ) 1 ' , 4 ' , Scholes 9 ' , Cole 69 ' 39,301 2nd
22 November 1995 Coventry City A 4-0 Irwin 28 ' , McClair ( 2 ) 48 ' , 76 ' , Beckham 58 ' 23,400 2nd
27 November 1995 Nottingham Forest A 1-1 Cantona 67 ' ( pen . ) 29,263 2nd
2 December 1995 Chelsea H 1-1 Beckham 61 ' 42,019 2nd
9 December 1995 Sheffield Wednesday H 2-2 Cantona ( 2 ) 18 ' , 84 ' 41,849 2nd
17 December 1995 Liverpool A 0-2 40,546 2nd
24 December 1995 Leeds United A 1-3 Cole 30 ' 39,801 2nd
27 December 1995 Newcastle United H 2-0 Cole 6 ' , Keane 53 ' 42,024 2nd
FA Premier League
Main article : 1995–96 FA Premier League Manchester United opened the 1995–96 season with a 3–1 defeat away to Aston Villa , after which their young team was written off by all the media , most famously by Alan Hansen who claimed `` you 'll never win anything with kids '' . The younger players were partnered with veterans like Steve Bruce , Roy Keane and Peter Schmeichel , and began to look a convincing outfit , particularly after a 2–1 win away to defending champions Blackburn Rovers . A 1–0 defeat at Arsenal was only their second league defeat of the campaign , but in the run-up to Christmas they endured a five-match winless run which left Newcastle United looking uncatchable with a 10-point lead . A 2–0 home win over the Tynesiders on 27 December cut the gap to seven points , but it widened again on New Year 's Day when United were crushed 4–1 at Tottenham Hotspur . United then went on a strong run of form which saw the gap between themselves and Newcastle cut to four points by the end of February , and on 4 March they won 1-0 at Newcastle to cut the gap to a single point . They went top of the league soon afterwards and went into the final game of the season at Middlesbrough only needing a point to put the title beyond all doubt . United sealed their third league title in four seasons by beating the Teessiders 3–0 .
The 1995-96 season was Manchester United's fourth season in the Premier League, and their 21st consecutive season in the top division of English football. United finished the season by becoming the first English team to win the Double (league title and FA Cup) twice. Their triumph was made all the more remarkable by the fact that Alex Ferguson had sold experienced players Paul Ince, Mark Hughes and Andrei Kanchelskis before the start of the season, and not made any major signings. Instead, he had drafted in young players like Nicky Butt, David Beckham, Paul Scholes and the Neville brothers, Gary and Phil. Eric Cantona returned from his eight-month suspension at the beginning of October, and finished the season as the club's top scorer with 19 goals in all competitions, the last one being the winner against Liverpool in the FA Cup Final. He also picked up a Premier League winner's medal and the FWA Player of the Year award. The Premier League title was sealed on the final day of the season with a 3-0 win at Bryan Robson's Middlesbrough.