Manchester United v Liverpool Special: How the tables turned for English football's most successful clubs

For Liverpool, the very idea that United could surpass their haul of 18 league titles evokes feelings of nausea and disbelief. The Reds’ 20-year wait for a top-flight success would hurt badly enough on its own, that their great rivals have collected 11 championships in this period adds insult to significant injury.

When John Barnes strode clear of the Manchester United defence to secure Liverpool’s 2-1 win at Old Trafford in March 1990 with almost arrogant ease, the symbolism was clear. Barnes was yards ahead of United as a player, Liverpool were streets ahead as a club.

The Reds would clinch their 18^th championship a few weeks later, while United finished the season a disappointing 13^th. Liverpool had Barnes, Peter Beardsley and Ian Rush playing the best football of their careers, United were struggling to replace the likes of Paul McGrath, Norman Whiteside and, increasingly, Bryan Robson.

But 1990 was a turning point. Alex Ferguson, until then a manager under fire after a series of below-par league showings, would collect his first trophy with an FA Cup triumph over Crystal Palace, and his side – built around reliable performers such as Steve Bruce, Mark Hughes and Brian McClair – was about to receive an injection of youth. Ryan Giggs would make his debut the following season, triggering the arrival of the best group of youngsters to grace Old Trafford since the Busby Babes of the 1950s. United have collected an astonishing 25 trophies since.

Liverpool, meanwhile, were slowly stagnating. Alan Hansen’s retirement came on the back of the 1990 title success, and manager Kenny Dalglish struggled to replace the incomparable Scotsman. The greats of the 1980s – Ronnie Whelan, Steve McMahon, even Rush – were growing old together, and doubts were surfacing as to whether Dalglish, showing visible strains in the aftermath of the Hillsborough tragedy of 1989, had the stomach for the rebuilding job at Anfield.

‘King Kenny’ would resign in February 1991, with Liverpool top of the old First Division. By the time his successor, Reds legend Graeme Souness, was named, they had all-but surrendered the title to Arsenal. They have not lifted the crown again.

Painful | United's rise coincided with Liverpool's fall

Souness is widely considered the biggest reason for Liverpool’s dramatic, and speedy, fall from grace. His willingness to revamp the club from top to bottom had disastrous consequences, as results plummeted and big-money signings failed. His first full season in charge ended with the Reds in 6^th place, whilst United were denied the title by four points after a late collapse allowed Leeds United to steal in. It would be ten years before Liverpool would finish above their rivals from the other end of the East Lancs Road.

Aided by the formation of the Premier League, which allowed them to steal a financial march on most clubs, and the emergence of class players such as Giggs, Paul Scholes and David Beckham, United dominated English football for the remainder of the 1990s, with only Blackburn Rovers and Arsenal providing single-season exceptions to the rule.

Liverpool, meanwhile, would finish as low as 8^th in 1994 (after Souness had ignominiously departed mid-season, with the club staring at a relegation battle), and offered little or no threat to United’s monopoly under the likeable, but limited, Roy Evans. Defeat at Wembley in the 1996 FA Cup final amid a blur of cream suits and doubtful defending was symbolic of Liverpool’s underachievement in the ‘90s. Inevitably, it came at the hands of an Eric Cantona-inspired United.

Riled Rafa | Benitez desperate for league glory

Gerard Houllier’s arrival in 1998 did at least allow Liverpool to make some progress. They recorded four straight successes over United between 2000 and 2002, finished above their fierce rivals in 2001/02, and beat them in the 2003 League Cup final. But still they failed to match their Mancunian counterparts for consistency. Where United were able to splash out big on Ruud Van Nistelrooy, Rio Ferdinand or Wayne Rooney, Liverpool were collecting Bruno Cheyrou, El-Hadji Diouf and Djibril Cisse.

Rafael Benitez came as close as anyone post-Dalglish to restoring the Reds to the top of the pile. Liverpool led the Premier League table as late as May of last season, but a series of home draws would ultimately deny the Spaniard’s side, as United came on strong after Christmas to draw level on 18 league titles. For Ferguson, a man who once announced that his greatest achievement was to “knock Liverpool off their perch”, it was sweet satisfaction.

The landscape of English football has changed significantly since Liverpool, and not Manchester United, were the dominant force in English football. Sunday’s clash will be played out to a backdrop of supporter protest and disillusionment. The two clubs possess a combined debt of £900 million, and both have seen their relationship with supporters deteriorate rapidly in the big-money world of the Premier League. Expect plenty of anti-American sentiments towards both club's owners to decorate Sunday's clash.

The on-pitch rivalry may be as fierce as ever, but off-field the clubs have plenty to bind them. Just don’t tell either set of supporters.

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