Man United vs Liverpool: The bigger the players the worse they tend to perform
There is a problem with complacency about one's team's own capabilities, Man United vs Liverpool also about the league itself. Some of Liverpool's players and supporters and managers, in their desire to watch the top teams and champions, may be proving that there is not quite as much to shout about as some of us think. And at the top there may be only two or three clubs worth paying attention to anyway. Manchester City, or, just perhaps, Manchester United.
For a footballer, though, one match is the perfect example of the football league's great
United’s performances in midweek against Wigan came under some question. Not helped by a lack of natural talent in midfield, their attempts to play out from the back were sloppy at times and lacked patience, as players simply took too many touches when in possession. With Liverpool fans likely watching their team tussle with Manchester City all weekend and still complaining about their shoddy performance on Sunday against Liverpool, expect the Reds to take it up a level on Monday night.
Much has been made of Wayne Rooney struggling for confidence and the fact that he is not scoring enough goals, but there was a certain level of stonewall, steely determination to United's overall performance against Wigan on Monday night.
Yet even the biggest Manchester United fans may be willing to agree that their team was far from complete and lacked a solid midfield in the way of the brilliant Liverpool midfield. There may not be a better player in the league than Jordan Henderson, or one who acts with more confidence and authority in the central midfield area. But both players are so similar in style that it is impossible to imagine Liverpool without the Englishman.
Rafael, Liverpool's new marquee signing,
has made it clear that he feels he has the ability to match the big players in the league and Liverpool may have answered some of the questions about the side's ability to match the Premier League's top sides. But there remains a question about Liverpool's ability to cope with the other big teams in the league.
Against Newcastle and against Chelsea they looked fantastic. At Anfield, against Manchester United, Liverpool looked like a team that had not played a great game. One step forward, two steps back. Liverpool are clearly an outstanding side when they want to be. But what happens when they face a side like Liverpool? That is a problem that should make United supporters feel pleased with themselves.
It is not for nothing that Rafael has praised Man United.
They have great players and manager too. If they can beat Liverpool at Old Trafford, Liverpool have every chance of being taken out of the game. Like Man United, though, Liverpool also have a habit of losing matches. And in the bigger matches, that is likely to be Liverpool's undoing. A defeat on Monday would result in serious doubts about their ability to challenge for the title and maybe even for a top-four spot.
The bigger the players, the worse they tend to perform. There is a reason that Jose Mourinho does not like it when he has to play Wayne Rooney, Robin van Persie, Sergio Aguero and Karim Benzema. If Man United beat Liverpool, it is easy to see why. If Liverpool fail to do so, it may mean the end of the title challenge, but the question remains. Are Liverpool, for all the excitement, for all the passion, worth the risk?
Martin Laurence is a senior writer at The Independent
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As well as being a football writer, I am also a bit of a freak. I do aerobics. I was a PE teacher for two years, and will hopefully go back to doing that now I am writing football articles. I am also a Manchester United fan. It was the day of the famous victory over Liverpool in the 1999 Champions League final that the thought occurred to me that I could write a regular football column for the newspaper. I can still remember the excitement of the day and it was not until much later in my career that I realised just how much I enjoyed writing about football.
I am really excited about my column.
Not only because I get to write about football, but because I get to write about Manchester United. The next 10 days are very important for United and when they play Liverpool I will be incredibly proud to say that I am a United fan. Not just a Liverpool fan, but a United fan too.
To me, it is a big challenge that comes from wanting to get a football column. And because I want to get one, there is no way I am not going to take that challenge and meet it. I am going to take it head on and be absolutely determined to make a regular football column for the newspaper a success.
But it is not only about trying to take the opportunity with both hands. The biggest challenge for me is how to balance the football aspect with the Liverpool aspect. I am going to enjoy the fact that Liverpool is a big football club and that the United players are going to be challenged by the biggest clubs in the country.
But the Liverpool players will be aware that they will be tested by one of the biggest clubs in the world and that means the best players in the league. Liverpool will be tested, but they will also be tested by the qualities that Man United have. I will be more inclined to write about the qualities of Man United and to tell Liverpool what they have to do if they are going to match Man United.
I will be doing that because it is good for both clubs.
There are elements of it which are good for both clubs. It is good for Liverpool because they are talking about the Man United players, they are talking about them. It is good for United because it keeps them as a team in the eyes of Liverpool fans. That means that Manchester United have been strengthened and are a serious contender in the league. There will be no surprises in that.
And if Liverpool are going to catch Man United, it is important that they become seen as a serious contender as well. Liverpool must face Manchester United on their own terms. Man United vs Liverpool have to be considered as a big threat. The bigger the challenge, the better the challenge and the better the challenge, the better the headline. And Manchester United are beating Liverpool, almost every week. That means that Liverpool are going to have to start thinking about that.
Man United are probably bigger and stronger, if not stronger. Man United have better players. Liverpool are going to have to start looking at them in a different way. There is only one way to find out if Liverpool are strong or not and that is to play Manchester United. They have to beat them and they will have to find a way to beat them in a big game like Liverpool vs Manchester United.
It is a game that can define the whole season and Liverpool must make sure they are at their best. They can do that and so can Man United. If Liverpool are beaten, then they will not have a chance. That would not be good for Liverpool or Manchester United and they would need to look at how Liverpool could have done things differently. Man United could do the same.
It is a big game. It is a big challenge. It is a game that will define where both teams are at this moment in time. And whoever is left standing on the night will be the team to beat Man United vs Liverpool.
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