There is nothing quite like a Liverpool v Manchester United match to whet the football lover’s appetite.
The fact that this is their first ever European meeting will only add to the sense of occasion on Thursday night.
Europa League or not, Anfield will be rocking as the two old rivals come face-to-face in this first leg tie.
The pubs will be packed and tensions will be high. Listen closely in the pub for these pearls of wisdom.
Liverpool fans:
“Five times!” – this is an old favourite of the Liverpool fans who like to goad the United fans about their quantity of European Cups. Liverpool have five over United’s three.
“De Gea is the only player I’d have on our team from that lot.” – Realistically, this stems from their lack of confidence in one Simon Mignolet. It could be argued that some Liverpool fans would take Juan Mata in goal over Mignolet.
“Jurgen Klopp is our lord and saviour.” – The honeymoon period between manager and fans is still in full bloom and no matter what happens this season, he will only be judged on the team he builds, not the one he inherited from Brendan Rodgers.
“Look at that! There is no place like Anfield on a European night.” – Liverpool fans love Anfield and are drunk on nostalgia, thinking back to the European glory nights. It’ll probably be accompanied by a YNWA rendition.
“Keep the bloody ball away from Mignolet!” – As mentioned above, Liverpool fans are not crazy about their keeper and were aghast at news of him signing a new five year contract. Every time the opposition enter the Liverpool half, there is a mass sense of panic in the ranks of all Liverpool fans.
“Give it to Coutinho!” – As much as Liverpool fans are suspicious and nervy about Mignolet, the exact opposite is happening for their little Brazilian magician. He is the one they love and trust and want him on the ball ALL of the time.
“Next year will be our year.” – This line gets rolled out by Liverpool fans every year, but they will argue that this time they mean it. The reason being Klopp will have his new signings in and he’ll be in control of pre-season training. Reasons to be optimistic.
Manchester United fans:
“20 times!” – This is usually the reposte to the ‘five times’ chant from Liverpool fans. United have won the league 20 times to Liverpool’s 18 and this is a source of great comfort for their fans.
“Coutinho is the only player I’d have on our team from that lot.” – United fans will begrudgingly admit that Coutinho is a class act and must be stopped tonight. United fans have great memories of previous Brazilian midfielders. Kleberson and Anderson anyone?
“Louis van Gaal is ruining our club.” – It doesn’t matter that United beat the mighty Shrewsbury and FC Midtjylland recently, most United fans are of the opinion that Van Gaal needs to go and if they win tonight, it’ll be in spite of LVG, not because of him.
“Jesus, remember when Anfield used to have an atmosphere?” – United fans enjoy the fact that they play in a bigger stadium and will have noted the almost library-esque atmosphere at Anfield in recent years. Tonight, however, it’ll be rocking and a wall of noise is expected.
“Shoot on sight, it’s only bloody Mignolet!” – As much as Liverpool fans fear their own goalkeeper, United fans will be urging every single United player to shoot as soon as he crosses the halfway line.
“Put a man marker on Coutinho!!!” – United fans respect Coutinho. They know what he is capable of and is often the catalyst for anything good that Liverpool do. As soon as he’s on the ball in the United half, there will be a mass clenching of bum cheeks in the United ranks.
“We knocked you off your perch!! – Alex Ferguson famously stated that he took the United job to knock Liverpool off their perch. Few believed he would, but he did and of course, the legions of United fans are never shy to remind their Liverpool brethren of this.
