Premier League 
/ Dan Fitch / 12 October 2011 / Leave a Comment 
Liverpool and Manchester United show their mutual respect for one another.
Dan Fitch takes a look at the some of the greatest matches between English football's most successful two clubs, Liverpool and Manchester United.
Liverpool face Manchester United at Anfield on Saturday, in what will be a major test of the home side's resurgence under Kenny Dalglish and United's unbeaten record this season.
It's a fixture with a rich history and if the game at the weekend is anything near as good as the following encounters, then we will have a real classic on our hands. Here are the seven greatest Liverpool v Manchester United matches.
Long before Manchester United won the treble themselves, they prevented Liverpool achieving the honour by beating them in the 1977 FA Cup Final.
The match was decided within a frenetic five-minute period. First, Stuart Pearson gave United the lead in the 50th minute with a drilled shot past Ray Clemence, only for Liverpool to equalise two minutes later from a half-volley from Jimmy Case.
In the 55th minute United got the final goal in fortuitous circumstances, as a Lou Macari shot deflected off the chest of Jimmy Greenhoff and found it's way into the Liverpool net. Having prevented Liverpool from winning the historic treble, Manchester United would become the first club to do so, some 22 years later in 1999.
Six years after losing to Manchester United in the FA Cup Final, Liverpool got some revenge as they won a League Cup Final between the rivals at Wembley.
Norman Whiteside had given United the lead in the 12th minute and they remained 1-0 up until 15 minutes to go, when Ray Kennedy made it all square. The game went into extra time and was ultimately decided by a sumptuous curling shot from Ronnie Whelan. In an emotional end to the afternoon, Bob Paisley walked up the famous Wembley steps to collect the trophy in what was to prove to be his last final as the Liverpool manager.
When you look back at Manchester United's treble-winning season of 1999, the defining memory is of the two late goals that saw them defeat Bayern Munich to win the Champions League, but it was only thanks to another pair of late strikes that United progressed past the fourth round of the FA Cup.
Michael Owen gave Liverpool an early lead that they managed to hold onto until two minutes from time when Dwight Yorke scored a late leveller. Heartbreak was to follow for the travelling Liverpool fans, when United's 'super-sub' Ole Gunnar Solskjaer grabbed a winning goal in the 90th minute, that was almost as important as his one in Barcelona later on in the season.
Liverpool went close to pipping Manchester United to the Premier League title in 2009 and the highlight of their campaign was a 4-1 win at Old Trafford in March, that revived their title hopes.
The game looked to be going United's way when a Cristaino Ronaldo penalty gave them the lead, but Fernando Torres equalised shortly afterwards and a Steven Gerrard penalty gave Liverpool at half-time 2-1 lead.
Nemanja Vidic had a torrid afternoon chasing Torres around and things got worse for him in the second-half, when he was sent off for fouling Gerrard and then saw Fabio Aurelio curl in the resulting free-kick from long-range. Andrea Dossena made it a crushing 4-1 defeat in injury time, to really rub salt in United's wounds.
Pretty much everything that has ever occurred in the life of Eric Cantona has been dramatic, so it's no surprise that when he made his return to the Manchester United team after an eight-month ban for attacking a fan, it came in a home match against Liverpool.
Cantona was soon in the thick of the action, as his cross found Nicky Butt in the opening seconds and the midfielder gave United the lead. The Frenchman wasn't the only player nicknamed 'God' by his own fans though and Robbie Fowler showed why he was held in such high-esteem at Liverpool with two brilliant goals either side of half-time to put Liverpool 2-1 up.
Of course, it was Cantona who had the last word. His pass put Ryan Giggs through on goal and when he was brought down in the box for a penalty, it was Cantona who cooly put the chance away and sent Old Trafford into delirium.
Early in Alex Ferguson's reign as Manchester United manager, his team travelled to Anfield needing a win if they were to have any chance of finishing above a brilliant Liverpool side that looked destined to win the league.
The omens looked good for the visitors when Bryan Robson gave United an early lead, but strikes from Peter Beardsley and Gary Gilliespie made it 2-1 to Liverpool at half-time, before a Steve McMahon thunderbolt in the second half made it a seemingly unassailable 3-1.
However, the introduction of Norman Whiteside gave some bite to Manchester United's midfield and a spell of pressure saw a deflected shot from Robson make it 3-2. The comeback was completed when Gordon Strachan was put through on goal and calmly slotted it past Bruce Grobbelaar.
If ever you needed proof that the form book goes out of the window in games between Liverpool and Manchester United, this mid-nineties thriller at Anfield serves as historical evidence.
Just as Manchester United were beginning to dominate English football, Liverpool were floundering as they tried to recapture past glories. United lived up to their billing as pre-match favourites when they took a 3-0 lead within 24 minutes, with goals from Steve Bruce, Ryan Giggs and Dennis Irwin. It looked like an evening of true misery was ahead for the home supporters.
Nigel Clough was one of many Liverpool signings during that era who struggled to adapt to life at the club, but he will live in the fans' memories for his contribution in this game. Clough gave Liverpool a glimmer of hope with a goal from 25 yards out, before putting them right back in it with a near identical effort. Neil Ruddock completed the unlikely comeback with a headed goal 12 minutes from time.
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