Manchester United vs Liverpool: Why this Sundays clash at Old Trafford is better then El Clasico There are a few fixtures in English football which can claim to be the countrys biggest. Manchester United vs Manchester City, Liverpool vs Everton and Arsenal vs Tottenham immediately spring to mind, but its Sundays game at Old Trafford which stands out most of all. Manchester United host rivals Liverpool in a match which draws parallels with Spains great clash between giants Real Madrid and Barcelona. Here, Sportsmails experts look back in time to explain why Sundays game is Englands El Clasico. JAMIE REDKNAPP Growing up, this was always a fixture you wanted to play in. Its a proper game. Along with Celtic vs Rangers, its probably the fiercest atmosphere in Britain. There is no love lost between the players, let alone the fans. You can feel the anger and the hatred but what an atmosphere that makes. Ive played, scored and won and lost in these games so I know just what they mean. The most iconic fixture I probably played in was the 2-2 draw at Old Trafford in 1995. It was Eric Cantonas first game back after his ban for the karate kick and fate was on his side that day. Within seconds he set up Uniteds first but then Robbie Fowler destroyed them. He lashed the first in with his left and Ill never forget seeing him brush Gary Neville aside to chip in his second. But then it all went Cantonas way. I conceded a penalty for bringing down Ryan Giggs – though I still think it was never a penalty! Of course it was Cantona who stepped up to take it and score. At the time it was devastating, but looking back it must have been a dream for the neutral. There were mixed emotions because I had given the penalty away but we put in a very good performance and probably deserved to win it. It was a fantastic battle. MARTIN KEOWN With all due respect I think Arsenal vs Man United has a pretty good claim to be the English El Clasico! But this match has always been huge because of the size of the clubs and their close proximity. They have always tried to emulate each others achievements and then outdo them. It swings between the two with United dominant in recent history. But in a strange way when one side dominates, the other seems to be able to get some good results. As a kid growing up I loved watching United win the 1977 FA Cup final. They beat Liverpool 2-1 and prevented that great side from doing the treble, something United would go on to achieve themselves 22 years later. That always stuck in the memory and more recently the sight of defenders trailing in Fernando Torres wake at Old Trafford was something special. That was a fantastic result but of course United had the last laugh by winning the title. DOMINIC KING There is a definite edge to the atmosphere when these sides meet; always has been, always will be. I remember being at Anfield on Easter Monday in 1988 when United came from being 3-1 down with 10 men to drawing 3-3 and being struck by the delirium in the away end when Gordon Strachan began smoking imaginary cigars after he had scored in front of The Kop. The biggest memory of how this game was different to all the rest was April 1992 and the day Manchester Uniteds hopes of winning the old First Division championship imploded. Ian Rush had never scored against United in 11 years of trying against them but when he ran onto a John Barnes pass and slipped his effort beyond Peter Schmeichel, the noise was remarkable. It didnt matter that Liverpool couldnt win a trophy that day, what mattered was heaping misery on their most bitter rivals. The celebrations on The Kop that day last long after the final whistle. It wouldnt have been that way for any other team. IAN LADYMAN As Manchester Citys rise to prominence has gathered pace over the last six years, one thing has always stuck in my mind and that was former Manchester United manager Sir Alex Fergusons snarling insistence that: United versus Liverpool is our biggest game. This wasnt Ferguson propaganda, designed to belittle City. Okay, maybe it was. But it was also representative of the truth. Last April in Manchester, as Liverpool seemingly closed in on a league title, Uniteds fans turned temporarily sky blue and rooted for City. When Liverpool blew their chance, Uniteds fans celebrated as though they had won the league themselves. I cant imagine that happening anywhere else apart from Madrid. This is a rivalry that encompasses geography, industry, culture, social class and, of course, sport. Its about more than football. If you dont believe me then go to Old Trafford on Sunday. If you can get a ticket. NEIL ASHTON Liverpool were still on their perch when Kenny Dalglish brilliantly put one over on Alex Ferguson at Anfield in April 1988. United had drawn 3-3, but Ferguson was furious with a number of refereeing decisions during the fixture. In an explosive radio interview in the tunnel area the Manchester United manager claimed: managers have to leave here choking on their own vomit, biting their tongue, afraid to tell the truth. Dalglish, standing nearby with his new born daughter Lauren cradled in his arms, was then asked what he made of Fergies comments. Oh youll get more sense out of her, he scoffed. That set the tone for a vicious rivalry between the pair that resurfaced when the King returned to manage Liverpool for a second time. MATT LAWTON Ive listened to Sir Alex Ferguson deliver that knock them off their perch speech and never did he speak with more venom about another football club. Ive also seen a friend, a Manchester United season ticket holder who at the time was desperate for work, turn down a building contract because it happened to be for a Liverpool player. Nuts. But no rivalry quite like it in England. ROB DRAPER Wembley, 1983. Its only the Charity Shield but to an impressionable 13-year-old the intensity of the pre-match build up was something I had never experienced. There was that familiar walk through the old Wembley tunnel from the tube to the stadium, which meant navigating a steady stream of urine; there were the fans packed into the old terracing at Wembley, which meant you had to get your place two hours before kick-off, and which ensured the chanting back and forth went on for at least 90 minutes before the game even started. Then there was Bryan Robson scoring two goals to win the match – a great player against a great Liverpool team. I had never been to a Liverpool-United match before and wasnt a fan of either side, but that day remains embedded in my mind. The colour, the vitriol, the passion: they were all new to me. I had been to football matches before, but nothing like that. Ive attended several Real Madrid-Barcelona games and one Boca v River match, and as occasions they do surpass Liverpool-United. But in England it is the closest weve got. JOE BERNSTEIN Its the only fixture where the old cliche, formbook goes out the window, is actually true. When Liverpool dominated Europe in the 1970s and 1980s the one result they couldnt guarantee was Manchester United, who were something of a bogey team. And when Fergie hit his stride at Old Trafford, he was never complacent about Liverpool. Two examples bear that out, the 1979 FA Cup semi-final when the best team in Liverpools history were beaten 1-0 by a Jimmy Greenhoff header. And in 1992, when United were set for their first league title for 25 years until they lost 2-0 at Liverpool with Ian Rush among the scorers. My favourite personal memory is overhearing Gary Neville asking Paul Scholes by the United team coach if his red card (in a 1-0 win at Anfield in 2007) was deserved and Scholes matter-of-factly grunting Yeah in the way only he can. LAURIE WHITWELL The statistics and cultural rivalry show why these two clubs represent Englands closest comparison to El Clasico – and then there is the atmosphere at Old Trafford and Anfield. While teams may fluctuate, the ferocity between fans remains constant. You wont fail to hear boos and whistles whenever Youll Never Walk Alone strikes up in the away section at United. My earliest memory on this theme comes during the first derby of the new millennium. Scary Spice was in a box behind the Stretford End when Patrick Berger gave Liverpool the lead. She celebrated and the crowd reacted like a mob after a lynching. Scared Spice sat back down.
Posted on: Fri, 12 Dec 2014 11:22:59 +0000
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