Manchester United won the match 2–0 with goals from Eric Cantona and Paul Ince, with seven players booked due to a new clampdown imposed by referees.

[1] Notable omissions from the Blackburn side were the previous season's top scorer Alan Shearer (who had a virus from eating seafood) and his new strike partner Chris Sutton, who had just joined them for a national record fee of £5 million.

Also absent due to injury were Mike Newell, Kevin Gallacher, Paul Warhurst and David Batty.

Stuart Ripley and Ian Pearce made a makeshift front two, with young striker Peter Thorne making his solitary appearance for Blackburn as a substitute.

Denis Irwin and Roy Keane were absent after being given an extended break after playing for the Republic of Ireland in the 1994 FIFA World Cup.