Manchester City versus Liverpool has been the standout rivalry in English football over the last decade, and in the last five years it has been the top rivalry in Europe too, even surpassing El Clasico in terms of quality of football, star names, tension and drama.
The two rivals have contested three enthralling title races and one unforgettable Champions League tie, and when it comes to entertainment, the fixture almost never disappoints.
And after more than seven months apart, these most intimate of enemies meet once more at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday, and they do so once again as title rivals, separated by just one point at the top of the Premier League table.
It is a clash of styles, a meeting of the two longest-running and smartest coaches in the league and two sets of supporters who have grown to despise and respect each other in equal measure.
90minsoccer charts the 10 moments that turned an old rivalry into the greatest spectacle in the sport…
While City and Liverpool were never the best of friends, the rivalry started to crystalise in the 2013-14 season, when Brendan Rodgers’ side made a surprise title bid and ended up pushing their north-west neighbours all the way.
And this crunch top-of-the-table clash at Anfield would lay the foundations for all the tension and heated feeling that would follow over the next decade. Thousands of fans gathered to greet Liverpool’s bus before the game and an electric atmosphere gripped Anfield.
The Reds were on a nine-game winning streak and made it 10 in a row in dramatic circumstances, racing into a 2-0 lead, only to surrender it in the space of five minutes. But Phillipe Coutinho restored their lead late on and Liverpool felt as if they were on their way to a first title in 24 years, as exemplified by a jubilant Steven Gerrard telling his team-mates on the pitch: “This does not slip”.
Liverpool did let their lead slip as Gerrard lost his feet in the loss to Chelsea a couple of weeks later and then capitulated to draw 3-3 at Crystal Palace, effectively handing the title to City on a plate. The first stone of a seething rivalry had been cast.
The rivalry got its first bitter transfer saga when City signed Raheem Sterling from Liverpool for £49 million ($61m), ending months of speculation.
It was no secret that the Blues were desperate to sign Liverpool’s best young player and Sterling had poured petrol on the fire by giving an unauthorised interview to the BBC in which he sought to explain why he had not signed a new contract with the Merseysiders, insisting he was not motivated by money and only by winning trophies.
Sterling sure did that at City, lifting a slew of silverware, including four Premier League titles, two of which came at Liverpool’s expense.
Klopp had only been Liverpool coach for one month when his side took on City for the first time in 2014-15, but at the end of the match it was clear that the Reds’ new manager was building something special on Merseyside.
Liverpool raced into a stunning 3-0 lead at the Etihad Stadium and City were simply not prepared for the blitzkrieg-style football their opponents threw at them. An Eliaquim Mangala own goal put Liverpool ahead in only the seventh minute, and further strikes from Brazilian duo Roberto Firmino and Coutinho had the visitors in dreamland. Sergio Aguero pulled one back for the shell-shocked hosts before half-time, but Liverpool held on and then completed the rout through the unlikely source of Martin Skrtel.
The manner of the victory unravelled City’s promising start to the season and they ended up finishing way off the pace of surprise champions Leicester City. Liverpool had an inconsistent season in the end, but they had already laid down a marker and given their neighbours a taste of what was to come.
Guardiola needed a second season to get his City side truly in tune and it looked like no-one could stop them as they roared to 20 victories from their first 22 Premier League games. The title already looked secure and they also looked capable of becoming the first team since Arsenal to end the season unbeaten.
But they eventually met their match in Liverpool, who avenged their 5-0 defeat earlier in the season by finally inflicting defeat on City in a 4-3 thriller at Anfield. Guardiola’s side quickly bounced back from the victory and raced back towards the title, but the result was a sign that the coach had met his kryptonite.
City were the favourites to win this all-English Champions League quarter-final tie, but again they melted amid the sweltering atmosphere of Anfield, which more than lived up to its reputation for unforgettable European nights.
The hosts were fired up long before kick-off and the drama began when the two team buses arrived at the stadium. Liverpool’s coach was greeted with chants of ‘Allez Allez’ and billowing red smoke which galvanised their players, while City’s was met with flying bottles which smashed the door.
Liverpool came flying out of the blocks on the pitch and blitzed Guardiola’s side, with Mohamed Salah, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Sadio Mane all scoring with barely half-an-hour gone, comfortably seeing out the 3-0 win. The Reds also prevailed at the Etihad Stadium, winning 2-1 to seal a massive 5-1 aggregate victory. For all of City’s domestic dominance, they were reminded that Europe was still very much Liverpool’s domain.
“City were streets ahead of everyone in the league, but they come to Anfield and they couldn’t handle it,” Jamie Carragher said. “I think it’s something special about Liverpool. It’s that mentality; a team may be better but they aren’t having it easy here, no f*cking way. It can be a nightmare, even for the best teams.”
City and Liverpool went toe-to-toe again in the 2018-19 season and blew everyone else away in an astonishing two-horse title race, with Guardiola’s side finishing on 98 points and Liverpool on 97.
Liverpool only lost one game all season, the 2-1 defeat to City at the Etihad Stadium, and they will forever be tortured by John Stones heroic clearance from Salah, when the defender scrambled the ball off the goalline when it was 11 millimetres away from crossing it and giving Liverpool the lead.
The game was only 17 minutes old at the time and, had the ball crossed the line, City may well have still turned things around to win. But the image of the majority of the ball – but not all of it – being over the line has been etched into Premier League folklore and symbolised the tightest of margins that separated the two rivals, and ultimately led to City winning the league and prolonging Liverpool’s long wait for a title.
At this point the rivalry was so intense that it spilled over into the England camp. Liverpool had beaten City 3-1 just days before the national-team met up at St George’s Park ahead of European Championship qualifiers and tensions were still raging when Sterling and Joe Gomez came face to face in the canteen.
The pair had had an altercation at the end of the game and Sterling pushed Gomez in the canteen, leaving him with a minor scratch on the face. England coach Gareth Southgate sent Sterling home and dropped him for the next two matches as the City forward apologised for the incident.
The clash demonstrated the level of ill-feeling between the two teams and showed that tension between opponents does not always stay on the pitch, it is sometimes so great that it leaves its mark on international football.
For the second time in four years, Liverpool and City were locked in another neck-and-neck title race. The clash at the Etihad Stadium was billed as a potential title-decider and it did not disappoint, with the teams playing out an epic 2-2 draw.
The game did not settle the title race and the team’s were separated by just one point heading into the final day of the season, when City triumphed again by beating Aston Villa thanks to an Ilkay Gundogan late show.
But it showcased the Premier League at its very best and there was a tangible feeling of mutual respect between Klopp and Guardiola throughout. Indeed, some pundits felt the rivalry was in danger of losing its edge due to the harmony between the two managers and the players.
However, any sense of a friendly truce between the two clubs was emphatically ended when they met the following season in an ill-tempered game at Anfield.
Before the match Klopp had upset City by declaring in a press conference that the Blues were among three clubs who “can do what they want” financially due to their backing from the state of Abu Dhabi. City later briefed that they thought his comments bordered on xenophobia, a charge Klopp roundly rejected.
The game, which Liverpool won 1-0 thanks to a late goal by Salah, was played out amid a volatile atmosphere: Guardiola had coins thrown at him by some home fans, while City’s bus was attacked as it left Anfield. Some City fans also behaved reprehensively, writing graffiti and singing songs that mocked the Hillsborough and Heysel tragedies.
Liverpool appeared burned out by the previous season’s title race and limped towards a fifth-placed finish, failing to qualify for the Champions League for the first time in six years. City, however, were even stronger and when they met again in the league were on course to win the treble.
Salah gave Liverpool the lead but City, who were missing Erling Haaland, quickly imposed themselves on their great rivals and cruised to a 4-1 win, with Stones and Jack Grealish starring.
Even without their goal machine, City were able to brush Liverpool aside and looked every inch the superior side in the rivalry once more. But will they still have that same status on Saturday afternoon?
