There are many things that can come together for a rivalry to be formed in football. Whether there were a series of hotly contested games in quick succession between two sides or a simple geographical proximity, up and down the leagues there are fixtures that have that extra edge when they take place. One of the big ones in English football is Manchester United and Liverpool.
Over the Premier League years, United have generally had the upper hand and going into this clash at Old Trafford on this day in 2009 Liverpool were considered all but out of the title race. They had played a game more then the Red Devils and were seven points behind. A win, however, and things would suddenly start to look rosy again but they would have to stop a rampant home side who had dropped points at Old Trafford just once so far.
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The United fans, who had earned the bragging rights in this fixture so often, got an early chance to do just that. Not only was influential midfielder Xabi Alonso missing for the Reds, but they also lost Alavaro Arbeloa in the warm-up to a hamstring injury, which meant Sami Hyypia was asked to fill in. As such, Liverpool did not get to grips with the game early on and they went behind after 23 when Cristiano Ronaldo scored from the spot after Pepe Reina had brought down Park Ji-Sung.
As it stood midway through that first half, United were 10 points ahead of their rivals with only around a quarter of the season left. If the result stayed the same then Liverpool would surely be ruled out of the title hunt, which they had not been a part of up to this late stage for a while. Indeed, even Chelsea were ahead of the Reds on goal difference at this point.
However, amid the chants from the home fans directed at Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez, the away side suddenly came into life. Fernando Torres in particular was looking threatening and started to give Nemanja Vidic the runaround. Just five minutes after the goal the Spaniard had pulled his side level as he harried Vidic to get to a bouncing ball and finish well past Edwin van der Sar.
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That was not to be Vidic's first mistake against the in-form Torres. Not long after the goal he was cheekily nutmegged by the striker before he might have given away a penalty with a tangle in the box not long before the break. Liverpool were by now on top and indeed they finished the half on a strong point. Torres fed Steven Gerrard inside, who was then tripped by Patrice Evra to step up and make it 2-1 from the spot.
After what must have been typical hairdryer treatment from Sir Alex Ferguson at the break, United came out strongly in the second half. Liverpool, however, were in a determined mood to hold on to their lead. The closest United came in their dominant spell was when Ronaldo clipped to Wayne Rooney, whose glanced header was just too far out of Carlos Tevez's reach to turn it in.
Dimitar Berbatov, Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes were all thrown into the mix, but just two minutes after their introduction the task became much more difficult for United. Vidic this time had let Gerrard through on goal and chose to pull the Liverpool man down rather than let him shoot; a decision which ended with the Serb being sent off to cap a truly miserable afternoon.
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If Vidic had hoped his decision would stop Liverpool's third goal he was mistaken. From the free kick Fabio Aurelio stepped up to curl a brilliant 25-yard effort over the wall and past a motionless Van der Sar. There was time for more class from the Reds, with Andrea Dossena wrapping up a resounding win with a delicate lob over the helpless United goalkeeper.
The win moved Liverpool to within four points of their rivals, but despite this they were unable to usurp United and Ferguson's men maintained that gap throughout the season to lift the title.
Matt Domm
