Manchester United versus Liverpool combined FA Cup XI features Treble winners and Reds keeper
Fixtures in England don’t come bigger than Manchester United versus Liverpool and although Jurgen Klopp’s men will be firm favourites to progress to the FA Cup semis in the German’s final season at Anfield, the Red Devils are certainly on top when it comes to the history between the clubs in football’s oldest competition.
Here’s a team made up from players who made the difference when the two sides have clashed in the FA Cup.
READ MORE: Previewing Manchester United v Liverpool, Chelsea, Dubravka, Forest’s Prem six-pointer
Goalkeeper: Pepe Reina
Without a victory against Manchester United in the FA Cup for 85 years and coming off the back of a last-gasp defeat to the Red Devils in the Premier League, Liverpool’s chances didn’t look good going into the 2006 fifth-round clash. Reina conceded a last-minute header from Rio Ferdinand in the league meeting which saw Gary Neville run the length of the Old Trafford pitch to celebrate in front of the away fans, but the Spanish keeper had the last laugh after keeping a clean sheet to help Rafa Benitez’s men to a 1-0 win. The Reds went on to lift the cup after a thrilling final against West Ham.
Centre-back: Billy Dunlop
The first-ever FA Cup clash between England’s two most successful clubs came in the February of 1898, back when Manchester United weren’t Manchester United yet and Old Trafford hadn’t even been built. Newton Heath faced Liverpool at Bank Street in a match that saw the second-tier Heathens hold their First Division opponents to a 0-0 draw. However, the replay at Anfield ended in a 2-1 win for the home side, with long-serving Scottish defender Dunlop on the scoresheet.
Centre-back: Bill Lacey
You would’ve already celebrated your 103rd birthday if you were alive when Liverpool last won an FA Cup tie at Old Trafford. The 1920/21 season marked that event, with the first-round clash going to a replay following a 1-1 draw at Anfield, where former Liverpool forward Tom Miller scored for Manchester United. Versatile Irishman Lacey was on the scoresheet in a 2-1 victory for the away side to set up a second-round tie with Newcastle United.
Centre-back: Daniel Agger
Liverpool’s last victory over Manchester United in the competition came in 2012, with the two giants drawn against each other in the fourth round. Danish defender Agger headed in the opener in a 2-1 triumph to give the Anfield crowd some cheer in the middle of a disappointing league campaign. Kenny Dalglish’s men ended up reaching the final with victory against local rivals Everton at Wembley, but lost out to Chelsea.
Winger: Charlie Mitten
The first league campaign after the Second World War saw Liverpool pip Manchester United to the title by a point. However, the coming seasons saw a huge difference in fortunes, with the Red Devils on the ascendency under new boss Matt Busby, while their North-West rivals ended up suffering relegation in the early ’50s. Busby picked up his first trophy in 1948, with victory in the FA Cup following a 4-2 win over Blackpool in the final. Liverpool were one of the casualties along the way, going down 3-0 in the fourth round, with tricky winger Mitten on the scoresheet.
Central midfield: Bobby Charlton
Busby’s first side was gradually broken up as the young talent at the club was given a chance to shine. With back-to-back title wins, the Red Devils looked destined to dominate at home and abroad for years, with generational talent Duncan Edwards at the heart of the side. However, the tragic events of Munich left Charlton to carry the spirit of the Busby Babes as a new team was built. Charlton scored twice in a 3-1 win over Liverpool in the fourth-round of the cup in 1960, but it would take another three years for United to lift the trophy.
Central midfield: Jimmy Greenhoff
More league titles and a European Cup win 10 years after Munich would cement Busby’s incredible legacy at Old Trafford but come the late ’70s, he’d retired and Charlton’s playing days were over. United had suffered relegation to the second tier and although they bounced back at the first attempt, Liverpool were the team of the era, lifting the European Cup themselves as well as winning the league in 1977. However, the Red Devils prevented Bob Paisley’s men from completing the treble, with Greenhoff scoring the winner in the final of the FA Cup. If there was a ’70s version of the Premier League Uncapped XI, Greenhoff would certainly feature, with the talented Englishman proving to be the scourge of Liverpool again two years later after heading in the only goal of a semi-final replay.
Central midfield: Bryan Robson
The ’80s proved to be more of the same for Manchester United as they failed to win their first post-Busby league title, while Liverpool continued to dominate. Yet again though, the Red Devils had a hoodoo over their successful rivals in the FA Cup, with another win in a semi-final replay. Robson scored with a superb long-range strike in a 2-1 win and went on to lift the trophy with victory over Everton in the final.
Winger: Ryan Giggs
Agger’s role in Liverpool progressing was redemption for his mistake a year earlier, when his foul on Dimitar Berbatov in the box earned Manchester United an early penalty in a third-round tie. Giggs converted the spot-kick and it proved to be the only goal of the game as the Red Devils ruined Dalglish’s first game back as boss. Their cause wasn’t helped by Steven Gerrard’s dismissal in the first half, with the Reds skipper sent off for a rash challenge on Michael Carrick.
Striker: Eric Cantona
The ’90s provided the change Manchester United fans had long been hoping for, with the Red Devils flourishing following the advent of the Premier League, while Liverpool’s dominance came to an end. The two sides met in the 1996 FA Cup final, as Alex Ferguson’s men looked to win a second domestic double in the space of three seasons. A dour game at Wembley was decided by a spark from Cantona, with the mercurial Frenchman volleying home from the edge of the box five minutes from time.
Striker: Ole Gunnar Solskjaer
Cantona shockingly retired a year later but left the side in good health with the ‘Class of 92’ going on to even greater heights. 1999 saw the club complete the Treble with a stunning comeback in the final of the Champions League. Back then the Red Devils had a reputation for a never-say-die attitude and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s famous late winner against Bayern Munich wasn’t his first that season. The fourth-round of the FA Cup saw Ferguson’s men face Liverpool at Old Trafford and they looked to be heading out after Michael Owen gave the away side the lead. However, in the 88th minute Dwight Yorke tapped in from close range to equalise and moments later Solskjaer struck to turn the game on its head.
READ MORE: Where Quadruple bids failed – Spurs stumbles, dagger from Agger, Wigan woes, Nathan Jones?