Man Utd vs. Liverpool: Complete Head-to-Head Record

Rivalries don’t come much grander than Manchester United vs. Liverpool.

English football’s two most successful clubs have fashioned a ferocious feud since their first ever duel in 1894, with bragging rights and glory shared relatively evenly between the sides across over 200 meetings.

Momentum has swung back and forth between the adversaries and the rivalry has hit new heights in the Premier League era. United and Liverpool are good for at least two tantalising battles every single season, with drama never far from view.

Here is the complete head-to-head record between these two old foes, as well as five memorable meetings in recent history.

Man Utd vs. Liverpool: Five Classic Premier League Matches

5. Liverpool 2–3 Man Utd: Sep. 11, 1999

United’s thrilling 3–2 win over Liverpool just before the turn of the century was an advert for the chaos provided by this rivalry. The Red Devils edged an end-to-end affair which had a sprinkling of drama at every turn.

Jamie Carragher’s penchant for own goals took centre stage during a breathless first half at Anfield, with the iconic Liverpool centre back netting two either side of the half. His centre back partner Sami Hyypiä scored at the right end in between to offer the Reds hope after Andy Cole’s header had given the visitors a two-goal cushion.

Cole would turn villain in the second half, however, sent off for needlessly kicking out at Rigobert Song shortly after Patrik Berger had further reduced the deficit. Blatant penalties were waved away at either end during the second period, but ten-man United ultimately held on as they edged a blockbuster affair.

4. Man Utd 1–4 Liverpool: Mar. 14, 2009

Fernando Torres and Steven Gerrard — Liverpool ran riot at Old Trafford. | Andrew Yates/AFP/Getty Images

Nemanja Vidić was a phenomenal defender, but the United icon had a day to forget on Mar. 14, 2009. Everything had started swimmingly for him and his teammates during Liverpool’s visit, Cristiano Ronaldo firing in from the spot to give the Red Devils the lead, but things soon went pear-shaped.

A blunder from Vidić allowed Fernando Torres to race through and provide an equaliser and a late lunge from Patrice Evra gifted the Reds a spot kick before the break. Gerrard, unsurprisingly, fired home with aplomb from 12 yards.

Another gaffe from Vidić saw him fell Gerrard for a second yellow card, forcing United to attempt their comeback with ten man, but Fábio Aurélio expertly converted the subsequent 25-yard free kick to extinguish all hope for the Red Devils.

Just to make matters worse for the hosts, Andrea Dossena added a fourth in the dying embers to cap a superb win for Liverpool on enemy turf.

3. Man Utd 3–2 Liverpool: Sep. 19, 2010

Dimitar Berbatov single-handedly downed Liverpool in the first meeting between the sides in 2010–11, producing a stunning hat-trick to pile more misery on Roy Hodgson early in his brief stint with the Reds.

The Bulgarian’s athletic header was the starter as he redirected Ryan Giggs’s cross beyond Pepe Reina, but the main course was undoubtedly the highlight. A stupendous overhead kick clipped the underside of the crossbar as Reina stood motionless in the Liverpool goal on the hour mark.

The Reds did fight back, however, with a penalty and free kick from Steven Gerrard levelling the score, but another pinpoint header from Berbatov decided the encounter in the 84th minute.

It was one of the great individual performances in this fixture from United’s sharpshooter.

2. Liverpool 3–3 Man Utd: Jan. 4, 1994

Things couldn’t have started any worse for Liverpool in their second match of 1994. The Reds welcomed United to Anfield, but found themselves three goals behind by just the 23rd minute.

Steve Bruce’s eighth-minute header was added to by Giggs, who lifted an excellent finish beyond Bruce Grobbelaar, and just three minutes later Denis Irwin’s exquisite free kick had all but finished Liverpool off.

But Nigel Clough led the fightback for the home side, firing two well-taken strikes beyond Peter Schmeichel to reduce United’s buffer to just one goal before the break. Liverpool continued to push for their equaliser after the restart and Neil Ruddock was the unlikely provider, powering home from close range to ensure the spoils were spectacularly shared.

1. Liverpool 7–0 Man Utd: Mar 5, 2023

Liverpool 7–0 United. Yes, that scoreline still seems like an impossibility.

United have sunk to some low ebbs since Sir Alex Ferguson’s departure, but there have been few darker days than their seven-goal drubbing at Anfield in March 2023. What’s particularly remarkable is that the Reds were only one goal to the good at half time following Cody Gakpo’s strike.

The floodgates soon opened after the break and within five minutes of the second half Liverpool were up to three for the afternoon. Darwin Núñez’s close-ranger header and Gakpo’s delicate finish from a tight angle left Erik ten Hag’s side with their heads in their hands.

But things would get much, much worse. Another header from Núñez was sandwiched in between goals from the fixture’s top scorer of all time in Mohamed Salah. Bobby Firmino added the seventh at the death in his final clash with the Red Devils for Liverpool.

Pure ecstasy for Liverpool. The stuff of nightmares for United.