Five memorable games between Manchester United and Liverpool, ahead of weekend's Premier League clash

In recent history Old Trafford has hosted some blockbuster, end-to-end games against their old enemy Liverpool. Ahead of their meeting this Sunday, here are some of our favourites:

Manchester Utd 4-3 Liverpool

Man Utd 2024 FA Cup masterclass stops Liverpool’s quadruple dreams

After only coming away with one trophy last season, it feels like a long time ago that Liverpool were flying, competing on all four fronts in mid-April earlier this year. The two sides were going into the game with completely contrasting forms, with almost everyone seeing Klopp’s side as favourites.

After a tightly contested match, which swung one way and then the other, extra time was needed with the score at 2-2. Many United fans had given up hope after a Harvey Elliot strike deflected past Onana in the 105th minute, but a Rashford goal allowed for a grandstand finish. With the game just second away from a shoot-out, Amad Diallo ran clear from a a counterattack and placed the ball in the bottom corner, giving Liverpool no time to respond.

The United youngster was shown a second yellow card after taking his shirt off in the celebrations, but it didn’t wipe the smile off his face as his winner had booked United a place in the semi-finals against championship side Coventry at Wembley. After a penalty shootout win in that game, ten Hag picked up his second piece of silverware in as many years after his side beat their local rivals Manchester City 2-1 in the final.

Manchester Utd 0-5 Liverpool

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s Utd embarrassed in their own back yard

Liverpool went to Old Trafford in late October 2021 having only won twice there in a decade, with one of those wins coming behind closed doors due to Covid restrictions. Despite their poor record in Manchester, Naby Keita got Liverpool off to a perfect start with a goal inside the first five minutes to get the Merseyside reds going. And get going they did, as a Jota goal and two Salah strikes saw them unbelievably go in at half time 4-0 up.

Salah capped the performance off with his third just after the break, making him the first ever visiting player in Premier League history to score a hat-trick at Old Trafford. It could have got even uglier for United, as a poor Pogba tackle saw him see a straight red. Liverpool, however, played keep ball for the majority of the second half, allowing the game to fizzle out in a historic day for the visitors.

Manchester Utd 1-4 Liverpool

Liverpool make a statement against title rivals

Despite Liverpool and Man Utd being two of the biggest clubs in world football, we rarely seem to see the two sides meet on the biggest stage. They have never met in the Champions League and the last time they met at Wembley was, incredibly, at the old one in 1996. This made their title clash in early 2009 unmissable.

Tensions were high leading up to the game, with Liverpool chasing down their arch-rivals in search of their first Premier League title. Rafa Benitez, the then Liverpool manager, decided to add fuel to the fire as his controversial pre-match press conference saw him criticise Sir Alex with his “facts” lines.

The game turned out to be as entertaining as the build-up, as an early United lead was wiped out by a brilliant goal by Fernando Torres and a penalty taken by captain Steven Gerrard. Two second half goals from Aurelio and Dossena sealed the win and despite comments about Rafa “cracking up” Liverpool took 3 vital points back to Merseyside.

It was Sir Alex and Utd, though, who had the last laugh as they lifted their 11th Premier League in May, which was also their third in a row.

Manchester Utd 3-1 Liverpool

Martial debut lights up Old Trafford

These old foes were reacquainted once more on match day five of the 2015/16 season. It had been a mixed start for both sides, who had picked up seven points from a possible 12. It was at a time in which neither team looked to be challenging for the league, with Van Gaal more than a year into his tenure and Rodgers only three weeks away from eventually getting the sack.

Daley Blind put United one up early in the second half before the then world’s most expensive teenager Anthony Martial entered the pitch. After Herrera made it two from the spot, Benteke pulled one back for Liverpool with a brilliant bicycle kick, which often gets lost in the archives due to the nature of Liverpool’s loss.

It was then time for Martial to take centre stage. After beating Skrtel not once but twice, he scored a goal which is still spoken about to this day, making him a fans favourite from day one in Manchester.

Manchester Utd 0-3 Liverpool

Three penalties help Liverpool cruise to victory

In 2014, Liverpool went to Old Trafford in a three-horse title race with Man City and Chelsea. Brendan Rodgers’ side were looking to complete the double over their rivals, after a 1-0 home win in the reverse fixture courtesy of a Daniel Sturridge header. In contrast, the champions Man Utd were having a dreadful first season post Sir Alex, as David Moyes already found himself under pressure less than a year after landing the job.

Liverpool controlled the game from start to finish, winning three penalties during the course of it. Gerrard converted the first two, before hitting the post for the hat-trick. It wasn’t to matter though, as Sturridge scored Liverpool’s third sending the travelling Kop home happy.

It wasn’t to be enough to end the club’s 24-year wait for a topflight title, as Liverpool faltered in the run-in, losing 2-0 at home to Chelsea in the game which saw Gerrard’s infamous slip. A week later they let a three-goal lead slip at Selhurst Park, meaning another near miss for Liverpool.