6 Classic Clashes Between Liverpool and Manchester United
Liverpool vs Manchester United. It's a big one. Indeed, in many fans' eyes, it's the big one - bigger than either side's local derbies because of the history between the teams.
Saturday's late kick-off at Old Trafford will be a fascinating match between two sides who have stumbled out of the blocks a little this season - here's some of their best fixtures from recent years.
Saturday's late kick-off at Old Trafford will be a fascinating match between two sides who have stumbled out of the blocks a little this season - here's some of their best fixtures from recent years.
6. Liverpool 3-3 Manchester United, 1994
Picture the scene (those of you who are young enough not to remember the match, of course).
Anfield. 1994. A season where not much was going for Liverpool, when they ended up finishing eighth in the league. £2.3m summer signing was on the brink of being forced out of the team by a mixture of Robbie Fowler and his own poor form. Then they went 3-0 down to Manchester United within 24 minutes.
If most of the crowd had headed for the exits, few would've blamed them. On the other hand, they would've missed one of the most remarkable Premier League comebacks - a brace of excellent goals from the out-of-form Clough and one from Neil Ruddock saving a point.
Anfield. 1994. A season where not much was going for Liverpool, when they ended up finishing eighth in the league. £2.3m summer signing was on the brink of being forced out of the team by a mixture of Robbie Fowler and his own poor form. Then they went 3-0 down to Manchester United within 24 minutes.
If most of the crowd had headed for the exits, few would've blamed them. On the other hand, they would've missed one of the most remarkable Premier League comebacks - a brace of excellent goals from the out-of-form Clough and one from Neil Ruddock saving a point.
5. Man United 2-1 Liverpool, 1999
Another of the brilliant comebacks in games between Liverpool and Manchester United, but this time reversed.
Michael Owen headed Liverpool ahead early in the 1999 FA Cup match, and the Reds were just minutes away from the fifth round before Dwight Yorke and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer struck in the 88th and 90th minutes.
1999... a comeback in the dying minutes in a cup match after an early goal... bit of a theme going on that year.
Michael Owen headed Liverpool ahead early in the 1999 FA Cup match, and the Reds were just minutes away from the fifth round before Dwight Yorke and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer struck in the 88th and 90th minutes.
1999... a comeback in the dying minutes in a cup match after an early goal... bit of a theme going on that year.
4. Liverpool 2-3 Manchester United, 1999
Sometimes
games are memorable because of a single moment of greatness. Sometimes
it's the ebb and flow of the game. Often, it's something completely
intangible, just a feeling on the breeze and a buzz around the ground.
Sometimes, though, it's far more simple. Sometimes it's just people being rubbish at their jobs.
On the Liverpool side, there was Jamie Carragher. A fine player with a long, successful career, but this was a special afternoon. Two own goals for him in the match.
On the United side, it was exciting new goalkeeper Massimo Taibi's debut. If you do have time, do watch the video of his first howler in a United shirt, which came in this match. It's quite something.
A match of great performances? Nah. A great match? Maybe not. One of the most memorable, though? Without a doubt.
Sometimes, though, it's far more simple. Sometimes it's just people being rubbish at their jobs.
On the Liverpool side, there was Jamie Carragher. A fine player with a long, successful career, but this was a special afternoon. Two own goals for him in the match.
On the United side, it was exciting new goalkeeper Massimo Taibi's debut. If you do have time, do watch the video of his first howler in a United shirt, which came in this match. It's quite something.
A match of great performances? Nah. A great match? Maybe not. One of the most memorable, though? Without a doubt.
3. Manchester United 1-4 Liverpool, 2009
Arguably Fernando Torres' greatest performance in England, the Spaniard
spent the whole match tying Nemanja Vidic, near the height of his
defensive powers, completely up in knots.
Torres only got one goal in the outrageous victory, the others coming from Steven Gerrard, Fabio Aurelio and, incredibly, Andrea Dossena - his only league goal for the Reds.
The comparison between this match and Saturday's shows how far both sides have slumped in the six years between times. Torres vs Vidic will become, er, Benteke vs Smalling and Blind.
Torres only got one goal in the outrageous victory, the others coming from Steven Gerrard, Fabio Aurelio and, incredibly, Andrea Dossena - his only league goal for the Reds.
The comparison between this match and Saturday's shows how far both sides have slumped in the six years between times. Torres vs Vidic will become, er, Benteke vs Smalling and Blind.
2. Liverpool 3-1 Manchester United, 2011
A hat-trick from Dimitar Berbatov had settled the Old Trafford fixture
between the pair this season but Liverpool had their own, slightly
unlikely, man to return the favour at Anfield.
That man? Dirk Kuyt, who took advantage of a weakened United defence to score his trio of goals from an average distance of just over two yards out.
The result was almost seismic in terms of the title race, giving Arsenal a real chance to beat Sir Alex Ferguson's side to the league, but United are United and Fergie is Fergie - so it was a third title in a row to Old Trafford.
That man? Dirk Kuyt, who took advantage of a weakened United defence to score his trio of goals from an average distance of just over two yards out.
The result was almost seismic in terms of the title race, giving Arsenal a real chance to beat Sir Alex Ferguson's side to the league, but United are United and Fergie is Fergie - so it was a third title in a row to Old Trafford.
1. Liverpool 1-2 Manchester United, 2015
And now, we reach the present day. Pretty much. March this year, where Steven Gerrard showed that being reckless, stupid and impulsive isn't necessarily restricted to just young people.It's not like the memory's had much time to fade, but it's worth recapping anyway. Steven Gerrard came on at half-time with his side 1-0 down, with only a handful of Liverpool games left before he departed for Los Angeles.
38 seconds later, Martin Atkinson was brandishing a red card in his direction for a stamp on Ander Herrera. That handful of games, apparently, was looking a bit daunting. Better reduce it by a few.
On the other side of the coin, Juan Mata's goal around the hour mark was really something special, an excellent scissor kick to put his side 2-0 and seal the game.
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