Liverpool v Manchester United: 10 Great Showdowns in These Rivals' History

Liverpool vs Manchester United.

Whenever these two giants face each other, there almost always are implications on the line. Throughout each club's respective histories, the other club has been in the way of the other club achieving whatever goal it is trying to achieve.

Who can forget Liverpool's success getting stopped by United in the early 1980s, or Liverpool earning several big victories over United in the new millennium?

With both teams meeting for the first time this year at Anfield on Saturday, here are the 10 greatest matches between the two giants.

In their third-straight FA Cup final, Manchester United looked to complete a league double of the Premier League and the FA Cup.

In their way was a Liverpool side that had not won the league since 1990 and an FA Cup since 1992.

Altogether, this game was pretty much uneventful except for a moment of brilliance in the 85th minute by Eric Cantona.

On a corner that was cleared by David James, Cantona was able to fire a missile into the goal to give United a 1-0 win and the FA Cup.

Liverpool did not win the Premier League this season (they ended up finishing 11 points behind Man United in the Premier League) but Liverpool were able to get an impressive win at Old Trafford during the 2000-01 season.

Liverpool got a goal in the 43rd minute from Danny Murphy and left Manchester with their first win in their last 10 appearances at Old Trafford.

Coming into this match, Liverpool were down by seven points to Man United and this match was a real make-or-break match for the Reds. If Liverpool lost (who were in second place), they would be down by 10 points and out of the race.

Even though they went down early on a Cristiano Ronaldo penalty, Liverpool came back with a fantastic offensive performance. Liverpool had four different goal scorers and ran circles around the United defense.

Liverpool did eventually get more points than United in the table in April, but United ultimately overtook them and won their third straight Premier League crown.

Liverpool went into the 1977 FA Cup final with a strong possibility of completing a treble of the first division, the FA Cup and the European Cup.

However, United prevented Liverpool from getting the FA Cup with a 2-1 win. Both sides scored all three goals within a five minute span early in the second half and United were able to hold off Liverpool from tying the match.

Liverpool did not appear in another FA Cup final until 1986, when they defeated Everton, 3-1.

Going into this match, United found themselves 11 points adrift of a Liverpool side that were on top of the table. Considering the fact that United were fighting a relegation battle a year and a half before, this match showed us how far the Red Devils actually came.

Despite a Bobby Robson goal that gave United a 1-0 lead, a 10 minute stretch around halftime saw Peter Beardsley, Gary Gillespie and Steve McMahon give Liverpool a 3-1 lead at Anfield.

However, United were able to come from behind to get a goal from Robson to reduce the deficit before Gordon Strachan tied the game with 12 minutes left. Strachan then pretended to light a cigar while celebrating his goal, which angered the Liverpool supporters.

Liverpool went into the 2003 Worthington Cup final knowing that they would have to face a United side featuring the likes of David Beckham, Roy Keane, Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes and Ruud van Nistelrooy.

However, United were unable to best Liverpool on this day. Steven Gerrard and Michael Owen both scored for the Reds and they were able to claim their second Worthington Cup in three years.

In the return match of Eric Cantona after missing the past seven months due to his infamous kung-fu kick in the stands, both Man United and Liverpool played a fantastic match.

Cantona helped to set up Nicky Butt with the first goal of the match but Robbie Fowler was able to score two goals to give Liverpool a 2-1 lead.

But in the 71st minute, Cantona scored the tying goal on a penalty and spun on the pole behind the goal in celebration.

In what would become a fantastic Premier League match, Manchester United took a 3-0 lead within 25 minutes at Anfield on goals from Steve Bruce, Ryan Giggs and Dennis Irwin.

However, Liverpool were able to rebound with a brace from Nigel Clough before Neil Ruddock scored the equalizing goal.

Liverpool's great comeback was not enough to keep Graeme Souness' job, who was fired a month later due to the giant funk Liverpool found themselves in.

In what was the first ever meeting between the two sides in a cup final, Man United took an early 1-0 lead on a goal from Norman Whiteside, but it was negated by a goal from Alan Kennedy.

This tie lead to the first ever use of extra time in a league cup final to determine a winner.

In the 98th minute, Ronnie Whelan gave Liverpool the victory in what would be their third Milk Cup title out of four consecutive Milk Cup's between 1981-1984.

Manchester United hosted Liverpool in the fourth round of the FA Cup in what would be a classic match for the ages.

Liverpool took a lead less than three minutes into the match on a Michael Owen goal and Liverpool looked like they were going to hold on and beat United.

But Liverpool lost hope of winning on a Dwight Yorke goal two minutes from time, and in stoppage time, Old Gunnar Solskjaer scored his first famous winning goal of the season.

United went on to win the FA Cup and complete the treble.

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