PL Collection: Four memorable wins over Liverpool

 

And despite last season's disappointing results in this fixture, you can bring a smile to your face by enjoying highlights of all United's 28 Premier League victories over the Merseysiders.

To help you make a start, we've picked out four of the tastiest morsels. We start with a memorable day at Anfield in April 1997, when Gary Pallister, of all people, put the hosts to the sword...

 

The Anfield club headed into this fixture as United's closest challengers in the Premier League title race, knowing that victory would keep them in the hunt for their first championship since the league rebranded in 1992. But two first-half headers from Pallister – both from David Beckham corners – soon extinguished those hopes, as United ruthlessly targeted Liverpool's weak aerial defending. A misjudgement from goalkeeper David James enabled Andy Cole to nod a third in the second period, all but sealing a remarkable fourth league title in five years. A delirious away end twisted the knife deliciously with euphoric chants of: “We won the football league again, this time on Merseyside!”

 

This was the day that Diego Forlan became an immortal United cult hero. The Uruguayan will never score an easier goal than the tap-in he was presented with by Jerzy Dudek's goalkeeping mistake, but don't get wrapped up in the comedy of that particular moment: this was a vital win for the Reds, on the way to an eighth Premier League title. Forlan scored a second to give United comfort soon after his bizarre first, ensuring that a late goal for Sami Hyppia was nothing more than an irrelevant consolation. It wasn't United's greatest performance at Anfield, but it tasted awfully sweet, given the unusual circumstances.

 

If the Forlan-inspired win at Anfield in 2002 was somewhat fortuitous, a last-gasp win there five years later was a textbook smash-and-grab. United were battered for much of the 90 minutes by Rafa Benitez's Liverpool, with Edwin van der Sar forced into some superb saves. Chances were few and far between, and when Paul Scholes was sent off in the final 10 minutes, a point appeared to be the ceiling of our aspirations. But a wicked Cristiano Ronaldo free-kick was spilled by Pepe Reina in injury time, and when it fell to the grateful feet of John O'Shea, United were gifted one of the most unlikely victories in this fixture's history. It sparked joyous celebrations, and enshrined O'Shea as an immortal United cult hero.

 

A wild and wonderful game, this classic ebbed and flowed like so many of the great United-Liverpool matches. United swept to a comfortable 2-0 lead thanks to two Dimitar Berbatov goals – the second of which was an outrageous overhead kick. But Roy Hodgson's Liverpool showed plenty of spirit, and equalised through a double of their own, from Steven Gerrard. However, Berbatov wasn't done there. In the final 10 minutes, he headed home O'Shea's right-sided cross, to put the seal on an incredible United win.

 

Games played: 60

United wins: 28

Draws: 14

Liverpool wins: 18

United goals: 79

Liverpool goals: 76

Top scorer: Wayne Rooney (6)