HERE we are again. When motorways, roads and ship canals between two North Western cities get referenced around a football match like no other time. Yes, it’s Liverpool v Manchester United; a match staggeringly once described by a national newspaper writer as “two bald men fighting over a comb”.
The point being made at the time was that neither club had a claim to be in the fight for the top honours that season – and therefore the match didn’t carry the weight many give it.
He was so wrong. It’s a meeting that always matters no matter what. It has that edge, that bit of bite. And get a result and it’s always one that’s celebrated that little bit more.
This time, Liverpool are chasing a title. We want to rub their noses in it. They want to show the way to an unlikely collapse. There’s always something. So what have been the best of times for Liverpool versus Manchester United? Everyone will have their own favourites for different reasons. But here’s five of my faves against the Mancs.
5) Liverpool 3 Manchester United 1 (Anfield, December 16, 2018)
Embrace the recency bias, allow it and take comfort from it. Because no longer do we have to delve deep into the past to find that warm, fuzzy feeling of Liverpool loving it and the Mancs all miserable. This was December 2018, Manchester United’s last visit to Anfield, and then, like now, there was a yawning gap between the two teams.
It increased to 19 points after a quick-fire double from super sub Xherdan Shaqiri meant Liverpool deservedly won a game they had dominated. By the end of the season, it was 31 points. On Sunday, a victory for The Reds would see Jurgen Klopp’s team go a whopping 30 points clear of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side with a game in hand and still 16 matches to play. Last time, such supremacy was enough for the United board to sack the manager, Jose Mourinho. And this time? Well Ole’s at the wheel, but his steering stinks so far.
4) Liverpool 1 Manchester United 0 (Anfield, February 18, 2006)
Not every great match or every great memory is about great football. And there was precious little of it when the Reds dumped United out of the FA Cup at Anfield in February 2006. Instead, it was a day of defiance, doggedness and fight. It was an afternoon when Anfield was alight in the stands – we crowed, we goaded, and we made the most of shouting about a still fresh European Cup number five. Peter Crouch did the rest, heading home the winner from Steve Finnan’s cross.
It was the first time Liverpool had knocked United out of the cup in 85 years. And Alex Ferguson wasn’t happy. “Liverpool can play for only five minutes and win the game, that is the way they are,” he complained. “They pump the ball into the box and with good set-piece delivery they keep you under pressure.” Are you smiling? I know I am. To top it, the Reds went on to win the cup. Sorry, Alex.
3) Liverpool 2 Manchester United 0 (Millennium Stadium, March 2, 2003)
On the subject of winning cups, this was another one. Deride the League Cup all you like, when it’s a rival in the final, no one wants to lose. And that was evident in the performance that day in 2003. Gerard Houllier’s Reds enjoyed some good fortune with Steven Gerrard’s deflected opening goal. But from there, a steely will to win proved crucial, from a string of top-class saves from Jerzy Dudek to (another) crucial cup final stop on the line from Stephane Henchoz.
The hard work paid off when Michael Owen was released late on by a Didi Hamman pass. Whatever you may consider him these days, he was a world-class striker then, and he was never missing from there. United were done, and Liverpool lifted the cup under the closed roof at Cardiff. As for Ferguson? He didn’t even attend the post-match press conference. Cheers, Alex.
2) Manchester United 0 Liverpool 3 (Old Trafford, March 16, 2014)
All those years of teams not turning up. The dodgy decisions. The red cards. The heartache. The barely believable performances from United goalkeepers. And here Liverpool were, at Old Trafford, playing against the reigning Premier League champions of the time, and bossing it. It was easy. They were strutting, they were swaggering. And, meanwhile, in the away end, a banner fluttered featuring a startled-looking Manchester United manager of the time and the words: “David Moyes Is A Football Genius.”
1) Manchester United 1 Liverpool 4 (Old Trafford, March 14, 2009)
Let’s not paint pictures or try to polish the turd – the brutally honest truth is that Liverpool’s record at Old Trafford makes for grim reading. The Reds have done battle in away fixtures with United on 96 occasions – emerging victorious only 17 times. Every win there must be savoured. Most have been hard-fought, and by small margins. So who can forget the March day in 2009 when the Scousers came to town and undressed Manchester United on their own turf? A glorious afternoon.
This was United managed by Alex Ferguson. A team featuring Rio Ferdinand, Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney, and Carlos Tevez. And able to call Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes and Dimitar Berbatov from the bench. Ronaldo’s penalty had given United an early lead, but Fernando Torres left the later red-carded Nemanja Vidic floundering on the floor to equalise, before Steven Gerrard put Rafa Benitez’s side in front from the spot, memorably kissing the camera to celebrate. Fabio Aurelio bent in a free kick to make it 3-1 and Andrea Dossena shook salt on the scoreline with the cheekiest of chips. Tasty.
*
What next then? What will Sunday afternoon’s clash bring? Unibet price a Manchester United victory at 15/2, while The Reds are 4/11 to keep an amazing winning run going at Fortress Anfield. United might be floundering in fifth, but the spiky Solskjaer would love nothing more than to lay some kind of glove on The Champions Elect.
Us, meanwhile, we’d accept any win. But we can dream of a convincing victory, can’t we? Imagine it. Hopefully next year’s top five features a special win at Anfield on Sunday – and mention maybe of another salty speech from a Manchester United manager. Here’s hoping…
