In April 1997, he scored twice against Liverpool in a match billed the "title decider" which ended in a 3–1 United win at Anfield. These would be the last two goals he scored for the club, who went on to win their fourth league title in five seasons shortly afterwards. His first goal for United had come on 12 November 1989, as he scored their only goal in the 1–0 home win over Nottingham Forest in the First Division. Return to Middlesbrough With Pallister now aged 33 and United having signed Jaap Stam from PSV Eindhoven, Pallister was sold back to Middlesbrough in July 1998 for £2.5 million, £200,000 more than when he first moved to Manchester United. He was brought back to Teesside by manager Bryan Robson, who had played alongside Pallister at Old Trafford until 1994. He scored once against Southampton in 55 league appearances, as well as appearing in two FA Cup matches and four League Cup matches. His final playing season, in which Middlesbrough finished 14th in the table, was season 2000–01. He retired from playing due to a succession of injuries on 4 July 2001, at the age of 36, just three weeks after the appointment of Steve McClaren as manager following the departure of Robson. International career B team Pallister made his debut for the England B team in May 1989; he started the match against Switzerland before being replaced by Alan McLeary in the 2−0 win at Stadion Schützenwiese. He made eight more appearances over the next three years with the last coming in the 3−0 victory against France in February 1992. Senior Pallister made his debut for England in the friendly with Hungary in April 1988. He played the whole game in the goalless draw at Népstadion in Budapest. He had to wait over three years to make his competitive debut when he played in the win against Turkey during qualifying for UEFA Euro 1992. England qualified for the tournament finals in Sweden but Pallister was not selected in the squad. He featured in the United States Cup in June 1993; he started the defeats against the United States and Germany, and the draw against Brazil, as England finished last place in the group. Pallister played three matches as England failed to qualify for the 1994 FIFA World Cup. He was used sporadically over the next three years, mainly playing in friendlies,