Iconic Moments | Nottingham Forest away | 1999

Nottingham Forest 1 - 8 United

Back to February 1999 and one of the best performances in a season of amazing performances. 

Author | Lee Francis

Back in 1999, as Fergie’s brilliant team battled their way to an improbable Treble, Nottingham Forest found themselves on the wrong end of a brutal beating.

The 8-1 score stunned the ABU nation and it was the Premier League's record away win for two decades until Leicester won 9-0 at Southampton.

Yorke and Cole both scored twice

Dwight Yorke gave us a dream start, converting Paul Scholes’ right-wing cross in the second minute after David Beckham’s corner from the opposite flank had drifted through the area. 

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Alan Rogers levelled for Nottingham Forest five minutes later following a neat exchange with Jean-Claude Darcheville, but United were back in front almost immediately. Andy Cole latched onto a long pass from Jaap Stam, rounded goalkeeper Dave Beasant and squeezed a shot past Jon Olav Hjelde on the line.

Lapses at the back in the second half proved costly for Forest, as Cole and Yorke each added another before the latter was substituted.

How Ole made history

The ironic thing is that when Ferguson sent on Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in the 71st minute, with United coasting 4-1 thanks to those doubles from Yorke and Cole, he told the Norwegian just to keep the ball and preserve energy.

Instead, Solskjaer scored four goals in the space of 13 minutes and 48 seconds, turning a routine away win for United into a record-breaking one.

The United end after the 8th goal

The day before, Solskjaer had been spotted buying a new pair of boots in the Trafford Centre, which nicely encapsulated his unassuming nature.

Wider post-match context

It was a commanding victory that propelled us in the pursuit of an extraordinary treble. For Nottingham Forest, managed by former red Ron Atkinson, it marked another bleak chapter in a season that ended with relegation. 

Watch the goals. The footage is from the Classic Man Utd Videos and Clips channel. 

Reds that were there remember

Mark Morris told us: “Our end was bouncing that day. The goals just kept coming, and we were all loving it.”

Robyn Bradie added: “As an attacking performance, it was our best of the season. Granted, they were awful on the day, but we could have easily scored 10.”

Jez was also there, he said: “Ole at his absolute best. As a substitute coming onto the pitch, he was the best player we had at the time.”