25/04 - 20:00
Sir Alex Ferguson called it his biggest ever challenge, knocking Liverpool off their perch. On his retirement from the game, the result of his efforts was comprehensive.
When the Scot took the helm at Old Trafford it was 18 v 7 in favour of league titles for Liverpool, since his departure, the score stands 20 v 18 for his Manchester United.
However, from the moment Ferguson passed over the keys to David Moyes in 2013, things have only deteriorated. Jurgen Klopp’s revolution of Liverpool has drawn comparisons to that of the ex-United boss, taking a sleeping giant back to the top of European football.
Now, Klopp is on the verge of the Holy Grail, that elusive Premier League crown, with a 14-point lead that some are already calling unassailable. Win on Sunday, at home to their bitterest of rivals, Manchester United, and the league might well be over.
But therein lies the problem. Manchester United have faltered under Moyes, Louis van Gaal, José Mourinho and now Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, never getting any closer to the top, outside a distant second place under Mourinho in 2018. Liverpool though, still have been unable to get the better of them when meeting face-to-face.
The only dropped points of Liverpool’s record breaking campaign so far this season came in a 1-1 at Old Trafford where they put in arguably their worst display of 2019. Unlike other games where Liverpool have been forced to shift up a gear, and duly done so, it took Andy Robertson and Adam Lallana to claim something from a fixture where none of their teammates turned up.
And most strikingly, even as Lallana scored at Old Trafford in October, the Liverpool squad were celebrating with the fans, instead of racing to the halfway line for a winner, like they would against any other opponent.
In their past ten league meetings since David Moyes left the club, Liverpool have become Premier League title contenders, while United regressed to being a top six side. Surprisingly though, since doing the double over Ferguson’s replacement, there’s been just a single Liverpool league win; a 3-1 in 2018 that required two heavy deflections on Xherdan Shaqiri efforts in order to take the three points.
The most striking thing though, is the performance of Liverpool’s attackers. Some might argue Roberto Firmino, Sadio Mané and Mohamed Salah are the best forward trio in the world, but against United they have combined for just a single goal, despite 24 starts between them.
🔴⚪️⚫️Liverpool's front three of Roberto Firmino, Sadio Mané and Mohamed Salah have scored more combined goals against their own side, Liverpool (3) than they have against this weekend's opponent, Manchester United (1).#MUFC#LFC@UnitedStandMUFC pic.twitter.com/rX4SMSRqQt
— playmakerstats (@playmaker_EN) January 14, 2020
It’s been clear that even though there’s been a giant shift in fortunes, Liverpool still have some form of inferiority complex against a side that has caused them untold pain since the turn of the century, with memories of a John O’Shea winner and Dimitar Berbatov hat-trick. There’s been highlights for Liverpool though, but recently, particularly under Klopp, it’s been an odd uphill climb, even with United’s struggles.
This season has seen Liverpool so far vanquish all past ghosts, including last week against a manager in Mourinho who will always try his best to rain on Liverpool’s parade, Sunday might be the last mental obstacle Liverpool need to climb for number 19.
You can arbitrarily add up trophy totals with every Super Cup and Community Shield you see fit, you could even more fairly bring European and FA Cups to the table, but the reality is it’s all fan talk. For Liverpool to regain their perch, they need to level United’s 20 league titles.
Beat United at Anfield convincingly for the first time this weekend though, and the pendulum might swing so far towards Merseyside that it could take a long time to reverse.
