Kenny Dalglish’s savage jibe to Alex Ferguson as Liverpool and Man Utd managers clashed

Liverpool and Manchester United have been bitter rivals for decades and the two clubs have shared some memorable moments over the years

The feud between Liverpool and Manchester United is one of the most intense and long-standing in all of sports.

In reality, the animosity extends beyond football, reflecting the historical competition between the two cities for supremacy in the north-west, whether in business, culture or sport.

And when Sir Alex Ferguson never hid his ambition when he took over at Old Trafford in November 1986: to topple Liverpool from their dominant position. His first full season in charge revealed the enormity of the challenge ahead.

Kenny Dalglish’s revamped team in 1987/88 seized control of that season’s title race early on and never seemed likely to relinquish it.

With new signings John Barnes, Peter Beardsley, Ray Houghton and John Aldridge, they played a stylish brand of football that drew comparisons to legendary Brazilian teams.

The Reds breezed through the first 29 league games of the season without defeat, making their 17th championship win almost a foregone conclusion, reports the Liverpool Echo.

When United arrived at Anfield on Easter Monday, the title was just a few weeks away from being confirmed. However, Liverpool hadn’t managed a home win against the Old Trafford team in nearly nine years.

Ferguson’s squad had also managed to snatch points from the dominant Reds earlier in the season with a 1-1 draw in Manchester.

As expected, Bryan Robson netted a goal within three minutes, hinting at another challenging afternoon for Liverpool against a team that often saves their best performances for such high-stakes matches.

But by half time, goals from Beardsley and Gary Gillespie had put Dalglish’s men ahead.

Steve McMahon’s thunderous strike from outside the box right after the break, coupled with United being down to ten men after midfielder, seemed to suggest that the Reds’ fantastic season would be crowned with a cherished victory over their rivals.

However, Ferguson’s decision to bring Norman Whiteside off the bench to bolster the United midfield paid off.

After Robson scored again with a massive deflection reducing the deficit, Gordon Strachan latched onto Peter Davenport’s through ball to equalise in front of a stunned Kop with just twelve minutes remaining.

Liverpool were left gobsmacked, unable to snatch a victory, and all eyes were on the impact of sub Whiteside, who certainly left his mark with a wild challenge on McMahon and a forearm smash into Barnes’ face, much to the Anfield faithful’s dismay.

And Ferguson was left furious – he went off on one about ref John Key from Rotherham and the calls he reckoned had gone against his team that day.

He told radio journos it was no shocker that managers “have to leave here choking on their own vomit, biting their tongue, afraid to tell the truth!”

And just as Fergie was getting wound up, along came Kenny Dalglish, with his daughter. Not buying a word from his fellow Scot about how the match went down, Dalglish quipped to the press: “You’ll get more sense out of her.”