Premiership · Matchday 18
Manchester United v Sunderland
5–0
Manchester United beat Sunderland 5–0 at Old Trafford on Saturday 21st December 1996 in the Premiership. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer (36', 48'), Eric Cantona (43', 79') and Nicky Butt (58') scored for United.
Timeline
Running score
- Kick Off
- 36' Ole Gunnar Solskjaer 1–0
- 43' Eric Cantona pen 2–0
- Half Time
- 46' Brian McClair for Pallister
- 48' Ole Gunnar Solskjaer 3–0
- 54' Karel Poborsky for Solskjaer
- 58' Nicky Butt 4–0
- 63' Ben Thornley for Giggs
- 79' Eric Cantona 5–0
- Full Time 5–0
Match Facts
Starting XI
Substitutes
Brian McClair
46' for Pallister
Karel Poborsky
54' for Solskjaer
Ben Thornley
63' for Giggs
Managers
MUFC
Alex Ferguson
Manchester United
OPP
Peter Reid
Sunderland
United vs Sunderland History
Meeting 111 of 147
147
Played
67
Won
38
Drawn
42
Lost
254
Goals For
208
Goals Against
All-time record, from the first meeting on Saturday 4th March 1893. After this match United had played Sunderland 111 times: 43W 31D 37L.
12 Jan 1991 W 3–0 D1 6 Jan 1996 D 2–2 FAC 16 Jan 1996 W 2–1 FAC
21 Dec 1996 W 5–0 This match
8 Mar 1997 L 1–2 PL 28 Dec 1999 D 2–2 PL 15 Apr 2000 W 4–0 PL | All-time | P | W | D | L | F | A | Win% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | 73 | 43 | 18 | 12 | 150 | 77 | 58.9 |
| Away | 73 | 23 | 20 | 30 | 99 | 130 | 31.5 |
| Neutral | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 100.0 |
Match results, lineups and goalscorers compiled from mufcinfo.com; advanced match statistics (xG, shots, possession) via FBref and FotMob where available. Last updated 29 September 2026. How we compile this data →