7-0 ghost

It’s been almost a year since Manchester United’s biggest humiliation at Anfield. That astonishing and humiliating 7-0 conceding in English football’s traditional and passionate North West Derby last March is a stain on the Red Devils’ history of great Liverpool-Liverpool clashes. continues to be. United. On Sunday, they will once again encounter all the unburied ghosts of that brutal defeat. The environment and atmosphere of the game enhances them. Jurgen Klopp’s side are once again leaders in the Premier League, with United in The Hag living with discord, dissatisfaction and a prolonged crisis of results.

Klopp often says that the key to a great team is “to endure failure when we lose and know that the next day we can smile and find joy.” He applied it to Liverpool this year and his motivational strategies worked extremely well to rally the team and rekindle their ambition. It is no coincidence that he has turned Anfield into a hostile environment for rivals and brought back the best Salah, who has already reached 150 goals in the English league, and has once again become the Premier’s leader. Quite the opposite to United, they are fragile and vulnerable at Old Trafford, where an atmosphere of discord between manager and players is palpable and, like Rashford’s fading star, a lack of commitment in difficult moments. Some people show that.

The impact of that brutal 7-0 defeat has not been forgotten in the fierce rivalry between the two clubs in north-west England. This highlights the problems Erik ten Hag had in establishing the Manchester project he last took charge of. A year in which they won the EFL Cup title and returned to the top four in the Premier League. Memories of the victory at Anfield, which turned out to be their worst ever defeat, will be remembered on Sunday due to the fallout from Champions League exit and the sadness that the results of the last two games have left them empty and indifferent at Old Trafford. It will probably come to mind. Constant disappointment.

To the top for the first time in 2 years

Furthermore, “derby” is created between strong contrasts. For the first time in over two years, Liverpool are at the top of the Premier League. This in itself defines the reinvention of the Reds under Klopp, and although it is still dependent on the performance of Mohamed Salah up front, new additions (McAllister, Szoboszlai, Grafenberch, Kendo) , and once again find solidity and regularity in the results. This year he once again became respected at Anfield, where he won all his matches.

Klopp likes to talk about a ‘reloaded Liverpool’ to define the new stage he has forged at the Reds. A careful plan was put in place to convince the players that Liverpool could achieve success again, including three physical sessions during pre-season and a lengthy motivational session with the players by resilience experts. I needed to stand up. There was an important moment. That was when star player Salah announced his decision not to play Arab football. Al Ittihad even offered him a contract worth £150m. The club’s owners, Fenway Sports Group (FSG), remained steadfast, improving their contracts and investing in the reinforcements requested by Klopp to improve the squad. Agreement with Alexis Mac Allister, Dominik Szoboszlai and Wataru Endo.

The signs in the first half of the season were promising, with seven wins at Anfield and one loss against Tottenham Hotspurs (2-1). This statistic is on par with his performance in 2020. He beat Manchester City to win the title. The strength of this new Liverpool side can be seen in the energy, dynamism and creativity of the midfield, which utilizes the qualities of goalscorers Salah, Diogo Jota, Luis Diaz, Darwin Nunez and Gakpo, and features players such as Curtis Jones. There were also young people. , Jarrell Quansah and Harvey Elliott who took a step forward. Liverpool are the second-highest scorers in the Premier League, one place behind City (35 goals), and the lowest scorers (tied with Arsenal with 15 goals). They lead United by 10 points, a sign of the difference in their current performance.

This showdown in the biggest rivalry with United has already seen the converted Anfield Road Stand on display, with the always noisy and special atmosphere created by both clubs’ historic rivalry. Inside, 57,000 fans will be able to watch Sunday’s game. of north-west England. It’s been a difficult period for the club, with manager Erik ten Hag continuing to press for more time, while fears of reliving last year’s ordeal have put United at a crossroads. There are only a few weeks left until Jim Ratcliffe is confirmed as the new co-owner. The acquisition of 25% of the shares follows a sale process that has already lasted 12 months.

Angry United fans renewed their protests against American owners the Glazer family this week, hoping Ratcliffe’s arrival would calm the unrest. All signs of progress seem to have disappeared for the Red Devils, who have already racked up 12 losses all season. “Now we can focus on the Premier League and get into the top four,” said Ten Hag, who was left flustered after the Champions League defeat, but which injected him with real confidence to face a bad situation. Rather, it seems to be an expression of helplessness.Memories and a tough test at Anfield on Sunday