Once more into the fray….
The battleground that has sparked such fiery confrontation, such immense entertainment, and some of the greatest battles the English football landscape has ever witnessed, calls to arms once more at the weekend. Manchester United vs Liverpool has become a rivalry ingrained in the minds of every football fan in the world: if for nothing but their successes in world football. But, just as the rivalry runs deeper, so too does this fixture run much deeper than a mere clash between two footballing giants.
This time, it’s not just personal. It’s business.
In what was analysed in this sensational summation of Liverpool and Manchester United’s history, per Robert Mitchell of Last Word on Sports, in his top five games between the bitter rivals, the fixture has a special meaning for both sets of fans: it’s the game everybody wants to win. No matter the cost, no matter the scoreline; the feeling of adrenaline-filled celebrations and spite-driven fist pumping at the mentioning of getting three points against the enemy is enough to satiate any supporter’s desire to conquer the other.
This time, the meaning’s enhanced to breaking point. This game could very well be the deciding factor in the contrasting seasons of these two sides.
On one hand; the near-irrepressible stream of results that Liverpool have managed has come as a significant relief; given the events of late 2014, when Liverpool found themselves eleventh in the table, sinking to a resounding 3-0 defeat that summed up their season to that point: effective on the way, rubbish when they got there. The lack of cutting edge, defensive atrocities and naivety in tactics saw what looked like a very even matched game in the early stages descend into a farce by the time United put the third past a shaky Liverpool defence.
This time, the stakes are much, much higher. This is the one that counts.
In a similar way to last season, Liverpool’s blistering form is offset by Manchester United’s poor string of performances. The difference? Louis van Gaal has ensured that despite the awful showings his team, more often than not, still ensured the three points were obtained. Take into account performances such as the one against Tottenham; a similarly resounding 3-0 victory akin to the one in this fixture’s corresponding game at Old Trafford, and the stage is properly set for another showdown.
Through the years, the controversy has had its fair share of the limelight in a ‘United versus Liverpool derby’. Whether it be such colourful characters as Luis Suarez and Patrice Evra, feuds between Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher or tactical showdowns between Alex Ferguson and Rafa Benitez, there has always been something to spice the fixture up for the neutral viewer. In this case, the league table is all the added flavour that the fixture needs.
Not that there won’t be the usual heavy challenges, robust physical battles and malicious words shared between the two sides, but the bearing on the seasons of these two infamous football clubs will be weighing on the minds of the players – and fans – more than anything.
For Liverpool, the crux of the game forms the true swing of their momentum since that fateful 3-0 loss to the arch-rivals. Since that game, Brendan Rodgers has helped to transform what was an ineffective group of defenders into a defensively robust unit; the likes of Mamadou Sakho and Emre Can sliding into the back three as effectively as Brendan could have wished for; in turn setting the rest of the side up much more efficiently, so that the movement from back to front flows much more willingly, and without stagnating as much.
Similarly, an attacking force in their seasonal prime will ensure David de Gea needs to be on his best if United’s defence are to stand any chance of not letting the leakage continue: and with Daniel Sturridge regaining some of his cutting edge, Rodgers is aware of the options he possesses.
In a season’s perspective, the importance is magnified by the two points that separate the two teams in the Premier League standings. In the same way that a win at Anfield, against the old rivals would spark Manchester United into full throttle as they approach a fixture run fraught with dangerous possibilities, so too would the most important three points of the season catapult Liverpool into fourth spot; with a likely chance of staying there.
For Brendan Rodgers, the game represents his best, and possibly only, chance to get a firm grip on that Champions League spot; holding it within their own control, and nobody else’s. For Louis van Gaal, the minimum requirement of Champions League football beckons on the horizon; attainable, but not without first being put through the trials of facing four of the top 6 six teams in the space of five games. Liverpool may only be the first hurdle, but it’s likely the most important of them all.
Two points. A place in the stomping ground of champions; a term most often used to define the legacies of these two clubs. A fiery affair, in all certainty, but this isn’t any usual Manchester United vs Liverpool derby. This one is the crux of two seasons.
So, in an overly-dramatic, inspirational, attention-grabbing tone. Let the battle commence.
