Trailing Michael Owen’s header inside three minutes, United battered away at the visitors, straining every sinew and wringing every last drop of hope until, finally, Dwight Yorke tapped home an 88th-minute equaliser.
Then, rather than consolidate and settle for an Anfield replay, United pressed on for more and duly received it when Ole Gunnar Solskjaer struck an injury-time winner that shook Old Trafford to its foundations. The added gloss of schadenfreude capped an incredible day for Ferguson, his players and their supporters, but a mood of frustration had gripped Old Trafford for most of the game. It took Liverpool under three minutes to move ahead, as Vegard Heggem picked out Owen, who had strayed from Gary Neville and was free to nod home a simple opener.