1996 FA Cup Final 1996 FA Cup Final The 1996 FA Cup Final was the 51st to be held at Wembley Stadium after the Second World War and was held between two of the biggest rivals in English football, Manchester United and Liverpool. A few days before the final, Manchester United had secured their third league title in four years (1992–93, 1993–94 and 1995–96, coming second in 1994–95). The final was also their third in three seasons, having beaten Chelsea 4–0 in 1994 and lost 1–0 to Everton in 1995. Liverpool, on the other hand, were going through a barren spell in terms of
1991–92 FA Cup Portsmouth side who defeated League Cup finalists Nottingham Forest and ending their hopes of a unique FA Cup/League Cup double. Norwich City reached the semi-finals for the second time in four seasons after beating Southampton in a replay. Sunderland joined fellow Second Division side Portsmouth in the FA Cup semi-finals thanks to a 2–1 replay win over Chelsea after a 1–1 draw. The semi-finals were played on 5 April 1992. It was the first time that Hillsborough was used as a semi-final venue since the Hillsborough Disaster at a previous FA Cup semi-final in 1989. This time it was Second