Manchester United and Liverpool are the two most successful English football clubs and each have enjoyed a prolonged spell of dominance at the top of the English game. It was back in the 1970’s and 80’s when Liverpool enjoyed their best period, while for Manchester United, their most dominant period came in the 1990’s and 2000’s under Sir Alex Ferguson.

At the end of the 2012/13 season Sir Alex Ferguson retired as Manchester United, signing off by winning the Premier League. Since then, United have hired and fired both David Moyes and Louis van Gaal and are currently being led by Jose Mourinho, a manager who really knows how to win. United have started the season incredibly well, sitting in 2nd place behind cross-town rivals Manchester City, but only on goal difference.

Liverpool have had manager Jurgen Klopp in charge, since October 2015, but he has been unable to bring any silverware back to Merseyside so far. The German took over from Brendan Rodgers, who despite not being liked by much of the fan base, was able to guide the club to 2nd place in the 2013/14 season. The club currently sit in 7th place and despite being the home team in their home clash with Manchester United on the 14th October, with the form United are in, a bet on United is likely to be more popular.

Ahead of their lunch time kick-off we have taken a look at the trophies both clubs have won under both Mourinho’s and Klopp’s predecessors.

At the end of the 2008/09 season, Manchester United finally drew level with Liverpool on 18 top division titles before finally over taking them by winning the Premier League for a 12th time in the 2010/11 seasons. The current record stands at 20, with United being able to add the 2012/13 title to their record, however if second division titles are included then both of the clubs are on 22 league titles, as Liverpool have won second division two titles compared to Manchester United’s 2.

Liverpool may have lost the bragging rights over the domestic top division but they can still brag about their success when it comes to European titles. Manchester United can only claim 6 European titles compared to Liverpool’s 11, although United have experienced more success in recent years. Liverpool’s 11 trophies consist of 5 European Cup wins, the most recent being the 2004/05 victory, when the club beat AC Milan on penalties in the final. The club have also won 3 UEFA Cups and 3 European Super Cups. Manchester United on the other hand have won the European Cup only 3 times, the latest being in 2007/08 on penalties against Chelsea, 1 UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup, 1 European Super Cup and the 2016/17 Europa League.

In terms of domestic cup successes Manchester United have bragging rights in the FA Cup but not in the League Cup. Sir Alex Ferguson’s reign as United manager between 1986 and 2013 saw the club win 5 of their 12 FA Cup victories although their most recent FA Cup success was in 2015/16 under Dutch manager Louis van Gaal. Liverpool meanwhile have won the trophy 7 times, most recently against West Ham United in a penalty shootout in the 2005/06 season under Rafa Benitez.

On top of the 12 FA Cup successes, United have managed to win the English League Cup 5 times, most recently in the 2016/17, completing a double for Jose Mourinho in his first season in charge of the club. Liverpool have won the competition more, with a record 8 victories although the last time was in 2012 under Liverpool legend Kenny Dalglish.

Interestingly, the Community Shield has been shared by both clubs on 3 occasions; in 1965, 1977 and most recently 1990. This was the penultimate time that the trophy could be shared as extra time and penalties were brought in to decide the result. Liverpool won the trophy a total of 15 times, 5 of those were shared victories. United have the record for the most times won, as they have won it 21 times, 17 of those being triumphs while the other 4 were shared. The only other team to share the Community Shield with United was Tottenham back in 1967.

In international club competitions they have both played once in the FIFA Club World Cup, with Liverpool playing in the 2005 competition and finishing as runners-up to Brazilian club Sao Paulo. United were more successful than their North-West rivals when they took park in the 2008 competition, seeing off Ecuadorian club LDU Quito in the final in Japan.

Although both clubs have had an enviable amount of success, on the 14th October Jurgen Klopp will be looking to get the better of Jose Mourinho and dent their title hopes. United’s form suggests that they are likely to have the upper hand, but Anfield is never an easy place to travel to, so be prepared for a tight and potentially fiery match

Posted on October 13th, 2017 by scott
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