Saha impressed early, with seven goals in his 10 starting appearances of the 2003–04 season and scoring on his debut against Southampton. After the match, Manager Ferguson praised his performance. In the next match, versus Everton, Saha and Ruud van Nistelrooy each scored two goals in a 4–3 win. On 28 February 2004, he faced his former team for the first time, scoring the only goal for United in a 1–1 draw. Throughout the match, Saha received boos and jeers from Fulham supporters. He then played in both legs of the UEFA Champions League Round of 16 against Porto, as Manchester United lost 3–2 on aggregate. After missing two matches due to an Achilles problem, Saha returned to the first team and scored in the next two matches against Arsenal and Birmingham City. Unfortunately, he was unable to play in the 2004 FA Cup Final win over Millwall, being cup-tied due to an earlier appearance with Fulham. Despite this, Saha went on to make 12 appearances and scoring seven times in all competitions at the end of the 2003–04 season.