Liverpool and Manchester United kick off 2025 with another mouth-watering derby, which will be the 244th meeting between the two clubs in a rivalry that began way back in April 1894
Liverpool have the opportunity to make Sir Alex Ferguson choke on his infamous vow that his work at Manchester United would never be done until he had knocked the Merseysiders off their perch.
Ferguson’s 13 Premier League triumphs mean that no team has been champions of England more times than the Reds from Old Trafford.
But with Arne Slot’s team currently setting a relentless pace at the top of the table, the odds on Liverpool drawing level with their rivals on 20 title wins are shortening with every passing week.
And with the Dutchman’s team also romping clear at the top of the new Champions League table, through to a Carabao Cup semi-final meeting with Tottenham, and set to face Accrington Stanley in the FA Cup, they start 2025 with a dream of usurping United’s Treble legends of 1999 by becoming the first club to complete the Quadruple.
Liverpool open the New Year with a clash against United at Anfield. It will be the 244th meeting between the two clubs in a rivalry that began in April 1894 when Liverpool beat Newton Heath 2-0 in a Test Match to decide which club would play in the first division the following season.
United have chalked up 91 victories to Liverpool’s 82 – but the last 131 years have provided tales of triumph, defeat and even the rotten smell of corruption. Here are five previous meetings to whet the appetite.
April 2, 1915: Man Utd 2 Liverpool 0
In the days before all the hype about English football’s most toxic rivalry, seven players were banned for life after fixing a match to prevent United being relegated from the old first division. Two goals by George Anderson secured victory for United on a shameful Good Friday afternoon at Old Trafford – and they eventually finished one place and one point above the relegation zone.
But with football about to be suspended due to the First World War, players from both sides saw the game as an opportunity to claw back some of the money they would lose by having their careers cut short, with bookies offering odds of 7/1 for a 2-0 victory for the struggling home side.
United’s Sandy Turnbull, who would later be killed in Battle of Arras, was one of three United players who were suspended sine die after following an FA investigation. Team-mates Arthur Whalley and Enoch West were also found to have conspired along with Liverpool quartet Jackie Sheldon, Tom Miller, Bob Pursell and Thomas Fairfoul. The enquiry found no evidence that either club knew about the scandal and so the result was allowed to stand.
May 21, 1977: Liverpool 1 Man Utd 2
Liverpool ended the season as champions of England and champions of Europe – but their hopes of becoming the first English club to do the Treble were ended by their biggest rivals in the FA Cup Final.
Bob Paisley’s men arrived at Wembley having retained the old first division title by a point from Manchester City and were red-hot favourites to lift the Double for the first time.
All three goals were scored in an explosive nine-minute spell at the start of the second half. Stuart Pearson’s opener for Tommy Docherty’s side was quickly cancelled out by Jimmy Case’s spectacular volley.
But Jimmy Greenhoff inadvertently became United’s match-winner when Lou Macari’s off-target shot stuck him in the midriff and looped into the goal.
Four days later, the Mertseysiders travelled to Rome to beat Borussia Monchengladbach 3-1 to lift the European Cup for the first time – but their shot at history had been ended in front of the Twin Towers.
April 26, 1992: Liverpool 2 Man Utd 0
United looked certain to end their 25-year wait for the title until a nightmare nine-day period which culminated in a defeat at Anfield that allowed Leeds United to snatch the crown away from them a few hours later.
Alex Ferguson’s men had led the table for most of the season but a 1-1 draw at Luton on Easter Monday, just two days after they had beaten Southampton, was the start of a slide. Just 48 hours after the stalemate at Kenilworth Road came a 2-1 home defeat by Nottingham Forest and two days later United lost 1-0 at West Ham.
Liverpool would finish a disappointing sixth – but Anfield smelled blood when United limped into their fifth game in just 11 days. Ian Rush scored his long-awaited first goal against United before Mark Walters sealed the victory in front of a baying Kop late on.
January 24, 1999: Man Utd 2 Liverpool 1
United’s historic Treble triumph included many decisive moments of truth – but none more than when Liverpool had the chance to halt their march towards immortality in the FA Cup.
Gerard Houllier’s side led for 85 minutes after Michael Owen headed them into a third-minute lead, but in a dramatic finish that helped forge the legend of the Class of 92, the home side came storming back to thrill a febrile Old Trafford crowd bolstered by 8,000 travelling fans.
Dwight Yorke equalised before Ole Gunnar Solskjaer illustrated his adroitness for an injury-time winner by firing home in front of an ecstatic Stretford End.
Four months later, United came from behind to beat Tottenham to win the Premier League before going on to complete the Double by overcoming Newcastle 2-0 in the FA Cup Final.
The Treble dream became a reality when another astonishing late comeback broke Bayern Munich hearts in the Champions League Final in Barcelona.
March 17, 2024: Man Utd 4 Liverpool 3
There was talk of Jurgen Klopp leaving Liverpool with a Quadruple when the Merseysiders travelled to Old Trafford in the quarter-finals of the FA Cup – but the aftershocks from an extra-time defeat would leave their season in ruins.
Klopp’s team had already lifted the EFL Cup, were through to the quarter-finals of the Europa League, and level on points with Arsenal at the top of the Premier League.
Twice they seemed on course for the semi-finals, goals late in the first half by Alexis Mac Allister and Mo Salah putting them ahead after Scott McTominay had given United an early advantage.
When Antony struck for the home side to send the game into extra-time, Liverpool led again after 105 minutes through Harvy Elliott before Marcus Rashford’s leveller and Amad Diallo’s dramatic strike in injury-time kept Erik ten Hag’s side on course to meet and beat Manchester City in the final.
When Liverpool returned to Old Trafford the following month, they never recovered after needing a late Salah penalty to salvage a point. The next 20 days saw them knocked out of Europe by Atalanta and drop out of the title race with losses to Crystal Palace and Everton and a draw with West Ham.
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