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Ole Gunnar Solskjaer: 'Man Utd treble-winners still England's best-ever team'

Old Trafford boss acknowledges Liverpool's progress but says he has yet to see a better English team than treble-winners.

Liverpool are running amok in the Premier League but Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has yet to see a better English team than the treble-winning Manchester United side he was a part of in 1999.

Jurgen Klopp's Champions League holders' superb, dominant campaign had led to renewed debate over the best side to grace the game.

The swashbuckling Reds are certainly in the conversation but they will be unable to replicate the treble secured by Sir Alex Ferguson's men in 1999 after bowing out of the FA Cup at Chelsea on Tuesday.

Soccer Man Utd bus/trophies3
Huge crowds at Deansgate, Manchester, greeted United's treble-winners in 1999 (PA)

Solskjaer's last-gasp effort sealed the Champions League on that fabled night and believes that side remains a cut above.

Asked if United's 1999 squad remain the best he has seen in English football, he said with a laugh: "I think so".

Ferguson was spotted at United's Carrington training base ahead of Thursday's FA Cup fifth-round trip to Derby and there was plenty of talk of the magnitude of the treble.

"The key to it? We had a very strong squad," Solskjaer said

"We had a manager who knew when to pick who and I felt trusted in the FA Cup. The other lads, Yorkie (Dwight Yorke) and Coley (Andy Cole), played more in the league and Champions League.

"You've got to take risks and you've got to gamble and you've got to be lucky and we had all of them.

"It was a remarkable season, absolutely incredible. But I think the competition is tougher now. There's more top teams."

Put to Solskjaer that United saw off a great Arsenal team whereas Liverpool have not had a serious competitor, Solskjaer said: "Well, we can't say Liverpool have not had a competitor because the quality in the league is high.

"So, they have done great so far but of course, for me now, cup games as well, any given team can beat anyone. But it was us and Arsenal back then."

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Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp pictured on February 29, 2020
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TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool108111961325
2Manchester CityMan City1072121111023
3Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest10541147719
4Chelsea105322012818
5Arsenal105321711618
6Aston Villa105321715218
7Tottenham HotspurSpurs1051422111116
8Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton104421714316
9Fulham104331413115
10Bournemouth104331312115
11Newcastle UnitedNewcastle104331010015
12Brentford104151920-113
13Manchester UnitedMan Utd10334912-312
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham103251319-611
15Leicester CityLeicester102441418-410
16Everton102351017-79
17Crystal Palace10145813-57
18Ipswich TownIpswich100551021-115
19Southampton10118719-124
20Wolverhampton WanderersWolves100371427-133


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