Why Liverpool v City (not United) is now Britain’s most fierce rivalry
A COUPLE of noises came out of Anfield earlier this season which made you wonder what they were smoking over there.
First they believed they could get away with trademarking the word Liverpool and then CEO Peter Moore announced at the World Football Summit in Madrid that “We are back on our perch.” Cue grimaces all round.
Moore was referencing Alex Ferguson’s desire, when he took over at Manchester United in 1986, to “knock Liverpool right off their f ****** perch” which he did by winning 13 English titles that put them two ahead of the Merseysiders.
And prior to Liverpool’s recent visit to Old Trafford, avian resting place references were out in force as pundits contrasted the fortunes of the reigning European champions with United’s current mediocrity.
But Liverpudlians with long memories winced at premature talk of their club being back to where they were when Fergie was so desperate to usurp them.
They know they have not won the English title in the past three decades, while the likes of Leeds, Blackburn and Leicester have, and it hurts so much at Anfield you can almost feel the anguish at times.
On Tuesday the Kop was unusually quiet for a European night, partly because Genk are not exactly Barcelona, but also because, like Pep Guardiola, minds were focused on Sunday’s titanic table-topping clash with Manchester City.
The modern-day big one. They are now the Mancunian rival sitting on the perch. The perennial foe.
So much so that had Jurgen Klopp’s side won at Old Trafford last month, once the gloating had subsided, it would have been viewed as just another three points in the gruelling quest to keep Guardiola’s relentless force at arm’s length.
Beating City on Sunday, to quote another cock-up by the Anfield suits, would mean more. Much more. Because like Don Revie’s Leeds back in the day, City are now the ones who stand in the way of Liverpool bringing home what Bill Shankly (above) called their “bread and butter”. The English title.
In recent years many Kopites have slapped down attempts by City to create a heated rivalry, pointing out that beating them means nothing compared to the thrill of stuffing Everton or United.
The antagonism went up several notches for City fans 18 months ago, when the coach carrying their players came under siege en route to a 3-0 Champions League defeat at Anfield.
Many Liverpudlians tell them the rivalry is all one way. But you only have to glance at the toxicity on social media from both sides, and witness how they obsess on each others’ flaws and pretensions, to know that’s not true.
For Kopites “that lot down the road” now means City, especially after last year’s narrow failure to land the title. And the modern-day kings of the Kippax have found their modern-day enemy in Liverpool.
Both sides have spent most of the Premier League era desperate to put one over on their rivals from Old Trafford, but now it’s each other. This is the new grudge match. The one they have to win.
Sheikh Mansour’s juggernaut is now the obstacle blocking Liverpool’s view of the perch. And, as Guardiola’s excessive referencing of Klopp’s side shows, if anyone’s going to knock City off the top, it’s the men from Anfield.
That’s why Liverpool versus United may be the bigger game in terms of history and global audience but the Scouse Reds playing the Manc Blues is by some distance the top Premier League show in town, now.
On Sunday fans, players and managers of both sides will let the world know it.
Which is a more painful indictment of United’s postFergie fall from supremacy than their current midtable position.
Fergie said in 1986 he wanted to ‘Knock Liverpool off their f***ing perch’, but now Kopites are only concerned about Pep