As runners-up to League champions Manchester United in the 1996 FA Cup Final, Liverpool were able to compete in the 1996–97 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup. This proved the club's most successful campaign since their return to European competition, as they reached the semi-finals, where they were eliminated 3–2 on aggregate by Paris Saint–Germain. In the next two seasons, Liverpool played in the UEFA Cup but were eliminated at an early stage of the competition, by Strasbourg and Celta de Vigo, respectively. A seventh-place finish in the 1998–99 FA Premier League meant the club did not qualify for Europe in 1999–2000.