Sunday is a chance to make up for 2021

It was the last time we met the Merseysiders in the competition, in the fourth round in 2021, and it is easy to imagine just what we missed as it was played out behind closed doors.

Yes, there was, of course, live television coverage, but the ground would have been rocking that day as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's men edged a pulsating five-goal contest.

It was one of those sweet victories where you fall behind, recover well but are then pegged back, yet still come out on top.

Mason Greenwood and Marcus Rashford put United in front, only for Mohamed Salah to grab his second of the game to level the scores. It was left to Bruno Fernandes to take centre stage with a brilliant free-kick to dump our fierce rivals out.

Bruno ran off to passionately celebrate his set-piece strike but there were few there to share his joy in the moment. Which is very sad when you think about it.

I was extremely fortunate to be able to attend a decent chunk of games when fans were shut out, although not this one, and it was a very soulless experience. Certainly, the two north-west giants doing battle demands the backdrop of a vociferous audience, adding to the spectacle, as will obviously be the case on Sunday.

You only have to think back to the most incredible of atmospheres in recent times, when we beat Manchester City 2-0 in the derby in March of the previous year to that Liverpool clash. That sticks firmly in the memory of all those who witnessed it and with some justification because it was an utterly glorious occasion. Sensing the world was about to shut down, I took a minute to scan the crowd's reaction to Scott McTominay's clincher and it will always live with me.

Aaron Wan-Bissaka mentioned it as his favourite connection with the fans when I spoke to him this week, so it's clear the players enjoyed it every bit as much as the supporters. Yet beating Liverpool on home turf in the cup, in the following season, does not engender the same response, even if he played in it. When it really should have done. Beating the Merseysiders in the most famous cup competition in the game should always be a cause for celebration.

Few feelings can eclipse the joy of the 1977 and 1996 finals, for those who remember them.

Circumstances were very much out of everybody's control in 2021 but it remains a great shame, and only illustrates just how imperative matchgoing fans are to making football what it is.

Liverpool followers will probably argue they had to miss seeing the 4-2 win in the rearranged game late in that campaign, as spectators were only allowed to return, albeit in limited numbers, in our next, and final, home outing against Fulham. This was the match that featured Edinson Cavani's long-range beauty.

However, from a United perspective, the cup tie feels almost like a lost game and definitely a missed opportunity. We should be talking about how great a day it was, in the build-up to this weekend's quarter-final. It should have been an enriching experience shared with those we attend the games with. An excuse to hope for repeat euphoria this time around.

Instead, it's a case of trying to make up for what we didn't have in 2021. And that is some incentive.

The opinions in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of Manchester United Football Club.