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Watch: Five Manchester United-Liverpool classics to whet your appetite

Suyash Upadhyaya | Updated on: 13 February 2017, 4:27 IST

Manchester United vs Liverpool. It's a fixture considered to be the biggest in English football, owing to the intense rivalry that exists between the two clubs.

Liverpool were the dominant force in English football through the 1970s and 80s, but the subsequent quarter of a century has been the era of United's dominance.

The rivalry extends to the fans of both clubs and even the people of the two cities, only 34 miles apart in the county of Lancashire.

This season, Liverpool have experienced a mini resurgence under new manager Jurgen Klopp. The Anfield side find themselves just three points behind Manchester United, while Louis Van Gaal is finding it increasingly hard to win over United's supporters who are demanding a change in regime.

To whet the appetite, Catch looks back at five of the most memorable clashes between the bigwigs down the years:

01
Liverpool 3-3 Manchester United (1988)

This was a season where Liverpool eventually went on to win the title, but were dealt a slight blow by United, who clawed back into the game to earn a draw.

Trailing Liverpool by 11 points before the game, United had to get at least a point to ensure that they had a mathematical chance of winning the title.

Inspirational United skipper Bryan Robson gave the visiting United team an early lead, but Peter Beardsley, Gary Gillespie and Steve McMahon made the score 3-1 in favour of Liverpool by half time.

Watch how United scored twice again in a flawless second half, much to the chagrin of the Anfield crowd, in these highlights:

02
Liverpool 3-3 Manchester United (1994)

Six years on from the aforementioned game, Anfield saw another thrilling match.

Within 25 minutes of kickoff, United stormed into a three-goal lead, and such was the intensity of their attack that it only seemed like a matter of time before they would belt in three more.

But ninth-placed Liverpool got back into the game with two goals from Nigel Clough, setting things up for an amazing finish. Watch the highlights of this game:

03
Manchester United 2-1 Liverpool (1999)

Then-manager Sir Alex Ferguson said this was a defining moment in United's famous treble-winning season of 1999. He said the victory gave his squad belief to go on and win any competition they took part in.

Michael Owen, then a teenaged sensation, gave Liverpool the lead within two minutes, and much of the match was a cagey affair with the score standing still at 1-0.

Towards the end, wave after wave of United attacks finally resulted in an equaliser for Dwight Yorke, with only two minutes left on the clock.

Super-sub Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, nicknamed the 'Babyfaced Assassin', then gave United the win with a goal that left Liverpool stunned, taking his team into the next round of what was to be an FA Cup campaign they ended as champions.

04
Manchester United 1-4 Liverpool (2009)

A memorable match, from the only season in recent memory where Liverpool went toe-to-toe with United as title challengers.

Liverpool's 4-1 demolition of their rivals down the East Lancs road at Old Trafford was seismic in what it meant to the fans of the club. After an early Cristiano Ronaldo penalty, which put United ahead, it quickly went downhill for the home side. Here's how the rest of the match unfolded:

05
Manchester United 2-1 Liverpool (2012)

This was Liverpool striker Luis Suarez's first match back after serving an eight-match ban for racially abusing United defender Patrice Evra at Anfield earlier in the season.

It was a tense affair from the start, following a controversial handshake incident between the two players. The match ended with Evra emphatically celebrating United's win in front of Suarez as he made his way off the pitch.

Wayne Rooney scored two, and Suarez got a consolation goal back for Liverpool, but this match is infamous for the events leading up to the match rather than the quality of play.

First published: 12 September 2015, 12:20 IST
 
Suyash Upadhyaya @SuyashU

A believer of the Indian football dream and an ardent cricket fan who likes to explore the nuanced side of all sports, Suyash finds creative expression in sports writing. Lover of literature, Liverpool FC, and an earnest economics enthusiast, he has just joined Catch News after completing his post graduation at Xavier Institute of Communications, Mumbai. When not staying up the whole night watching football, he loves spending time playing the sport itself, reading, and generally wondering when he'll decipher everything about the world around him.