Longtime Rivals Liverpool And Manchester United Set To Meet In Europa League

Liverpool and Manchester United have played each other 194 times. Never have they met in European competition.  Well that is about to change.  The bitter rivals have drawn each other for the Last 16 of the UEFA Europa League.

Arsenal will host the first match at Anfield, where the two English clubs will square off on the pitch Thursday, March 10 at 3:05 pm ET, and a week later at Old Trafford on March 17 at 2 pm ET.

The Reds are currently in third place in the Barclays Premier League with a record of 15-6-5 with 51 points, just two behind league leading Leicester City. While the Red Devils are in fifth place in the league with 41 points and a record of 11-8-7.

It was Manchester United though that won both of the previous matches: on Jan. 17, 1-0 off a goal by Wayne Rooney from a corner in the 78th minute, and a 3-1 victory on Sept. 12.

The rivalry dates all the way back to 1893, when Liverpool in their inaugural season, defeated Newton Heath (present day Man U) 2-0 to take their spot in the First Division.  After the clubs shared four league titles between 1964-67, Man U wouldn’t win a league title for 26 years.  The Reds meanwhile starting in 1972, would win 11 league titles in the next 20 years, to go along with 19 domestic cups and 9 European trophies.

The teams’ fortunes reversed in 1990, Liverpool won their most recent league title.  Since then, the Red Devils have won 13 league titles, 21 domestic cups, and 6 European trophies.

In recent years there has been a lot of tension between opposing players, Rooney has said he grew up hating Liverpool, while Liverpool’s Steven Gerrard has said he will never jersey swap with a Red Devil.  Liverpool’s Luis Suarez admitted to verbally abusing Man U’s Patrice Evra with racial slurs and refused to shake Evra’s hand.

It should make for an interesting leg in the Europa League when the two squads meet in March, the matchup is generally regarded as one of the best rivalries in the world along with El Clásico, Superclásico, and Derby della Madonnina. Manchester United currently leads the all time series 79-64-51.