United Fixtures history

Ferdinand helped the Reds to recapture the Premiership title in May 2003, a season that marked the departure of one of United’s favourite sons.

While it seemed improbable that the winger could top his 2006/07 heroics, he did just that the following season.

Despite a solid start to the campaign, United’s 2009/10 term contained a sting in the tail as Chelsea’s late surge for the line ended the Reds’ chances of winning a fourth successive title by a single point in a race which ran until the final day of the season.

The latter embarked on his second spell with United, having previously made seven first-team appearances in 2011/12 after rising through the Academy and Reserves ranks.

The end of that 2012/13 season brought the news that millions of Reds had been dreading for a long time: Sir Alex Ferguson was to step down as manager of Manchester United.

The triumph was sealed early on 22 April 2013, with top scorer van Persie appropriately netting a hat-trick in a glorious 3-0 home victory over Aston Villa.

Further reinforcements for van Gaal's squad came in the summer transfer window of 2015, with the most exciting of the lot arriving in the shape of Anthony Martial, the young French forward from Monaco.

In the summer of 2017, the Reds signed a prolific Premier League striker in Romelu Lukaku from Everton.