Some of the 51,000+ crowd at the Theatre of Dreams invaded the pitch after the final whistle in celebration, with Denis Law taking much of the acclaim.
The Scotland striker was clearly suffering with a knee problem, that was heavily bandaged, but played through the pain and set up a seventh-minute opener for George Best. Law did well to feed Best and the winger’s shot deceived Jim Furnell in the Arsenal goal.
As news filtered through that Leeds were losing, the Reds doubled our lead, just before the hour mark. Nobby Stiles’s free-kick was met by Law and David Herd forced Furnell to push his effort against the bar. Law was alert to the rebound and converted in his inimitable style.
The nerves returned when Paddy Crerand hacked Joe Baker down inside the box. George Eastham netted at the second attempt, after Pat Dunne saved his initial penalty.
The tension was palpable but the fans could celebrate when Best’s 84th-minute corner evaded Furnell and Don Howe so Law pounced on the gift to make it 3-1 with his second of the afternoon.
