PHOTO: AFP
LIVERPOOL/ MANCHESTER: Thirteen months on from the match that finally drew the curtain on Jose Mourinho's time in charge of Manchester United, the Red Devils again find themselves living in Liverpool's shadow ahead of their return to Anfield on Sunday.
A 3-1 defeat for Mourinho's men last December that left United 19 points behind Liverpool at the top of the table was the final straw for the club's decision makers.
But over a year on, little progress has been made under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. Defeat this weekend will see the gulf between the teams grow to 30 points with Liverpool also having a game in hand to come over fifth-placed United.
As a player, Solskjaer was used to having the upper hand in the rivalry between English football's two most successful sides.
The Norwegian won six Premier League titles in the Alex Ferguson era as the pugnacious Scot delivered on his promise to knock Liverpool off their perch.
Ferguson won 13 league titles in total, but the first of which in 1992/93 ended a 26-year drought for United.
At that time, few would have believed that Liverpool, English football's dominant force in the 70s and 80s, would go at least 30 years without winning the league.
That three-decade wait looks certain to come to an end this season with Jurgen Klopp's men 14 points clear at the top of the table, but Liverpool's long route back to the top is a warning for United of what could lie ahead if they do not move fast to arrest their slide.
"We are working hard to make sure that doesn't happen. Let that be a lesson for us," said Solskjaer on Friday. "We can't let ourselves go another 24 years till we win the league and I'm sure won't because I believe in this club. We started the rebuild now that I believe is going to take a little bit of time, but we'll get there."
Guardiola won't watch Liverpool’s match
Pep Guardiola will not watch "unstoppable" Liverpool's game with Manchester United this weekend because the gap between the Premier League leaders and his Manchester City side is too big.
"We are far away, they are unstoppable in those terms. We've dropped points, we conceded and didn't win games," Guardiola told reporters on Friday. "Being so far away means it's not interesting to look at what Liverpool do. It's better to focus on what we can do for the rest of the season in the Premier League and other competitions."
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