If you’ve been to Anfield, been in that arena when the stands are packed and the lights are on, if you’ve listened to those fans sing, if you’ve heard their hatred for Manchester, if you’ve a sense of the rivalry, not just between those clubs but also those cities, then you will have an idea of why Liverpool played with such passion today.
They had to. It is only a couple of weeks since their own capitulation, when they coughed up five goals against Real Madrid.
They had pride to play for.
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Their manager and captain will have reminded them that the shirt they wear is not just a piece of fabric.
It’s much more important than that.
When they hear those raucous roars from the stands, when they hear the cheers that greet every tackle, every clearance, it inspires players to go above themselves. It can make a team thirty per cent better.
And when you are the opposition, and you sense the hatred, the intensity of the noise can get to you. It takes a certain player to cope with that pressure. The great United team that had Beckham, Keane, Scholes and Giggs in its midfield knew how to survive in that arena.
But this is not a great United team at all.
Liverpool reminded us yesterday that when they play with passion and aggression, when they operate at such an intense pace, they are both magnificent to watch and so desperately hard to defend against.
They also reminded me that the game essentially is a simple one.
Quality counts.
Liverpool have it. United don’t.
You can read Eamon Dunphy's exclusive column in Monday's Irish Daily Star.
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