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It’s been 20 months since Sir passed away jim ratcliffe bought in Manchester United20 months later he borrowed Sir Alex Ferguson’s phrase to express his determination to oust Liverpool from power. Meanwhile, Liverpool have drawn level with United by winning their 20th league title. United officially launches Project 21Liverpool don’t have such a slogan but will likely have one soon.
Ratcliffe has attempted to do much more in his time as United co-owner, aiming to catch up Beating Liverpool went very wrongThe gap was never large in previous seasons; Not when they were in the same division, anyway. United finished with 42 points, Liverpool with 84 points. Twice as good in some cases. More than others, with Liverpool first and United 15th, the Merseyside team lost four league games, their Manchester counterparts 18.
Ratcliffe’s early ambition was tempered by some humility. He said that United had “a lot to learn” from Liverpool and Manchester City, adding that each was an “astute organisation” with “great people”. He had not anticipated how far United would fall behind. Last week, he expressed his support to his manager, saying Reuben Amorim “He needs to demonstrate in three years that he is a great coach”. liverpool may take note Arne Slott Won the title in his first campaign.
For the Portuguese, the two goals may have felt linked. Stay ahead of Liverpool and have a chance to win the title. Yet United’s fortunes have declined to such an extent that the only objective this season is European qualification. win at anfield on sunday – albeit a ground where they have not won since 2015 and where the aggregate score in their last seven visits is 18-3 – and they will be just two points behind Liverpool. Slote feels United have been better off the league table this season and would make a difference.
However, if they lose, United will fall eight points behind their rivals after eight matches, potentially opening up another gap. Amorim faces the difficult task of providing realism as well as hope. United’s history and identity suggest that they should strive to be the best, but first they have to make sure they are not among the worst. Ratcliffe has been personally voiced in support, along with chief executive Omar Berrada and director of football Jason Wilcox, but Amorim is so impatient that he does not want to take three years for a revival. “I know it’s going to take a while, but I don’t want to think like that,” he said.
They have fallen so far that the issue of when they will overtake Liverpool has been overshadowed by more immediate concerns. It makes sense that Amorim didn’t put a date on it. “That’s not what I know,” he said. “Sometimes things change very quickly.” United offers proof of this, albeit of the wrong kind. They finished ahead of Liverpool as recently as 2023, albeit in a season that brought a distinctly historic collapse, a 7–0 defeat at Anfield.
Amorim is a relative newcomer to this rivalry but has noted that they rarely meet as equals. “If you look at the history of both clubs you can realize that sometimes you have a club that is winning, winning, winning,” he said. “The other club is going through a bad time. It happened to Liverpool when Manchester United were winning everything and it happened to Manchester United when Liverpool were winning everything. So we just have to accept it and be really honest with the fans.”
At times, to be sure, Amorim has been too honest for his own good, too blunt in his criticisms, too open in his disappointments. He can be boldly self-critical. “I’m not the best person because I’ve been here for a year and our results aren’t that good,” he said. But those results may be better against the elite. Joint struggle as favourite.
“When you have to win and have a reaction to win, it’s very hard to play like that,” he said. “That’s why when you play big clubs you have to win every match. We sometimes have some difficulties in dealing with that. When people expect Manchester United to win that game.”
And few expect them to win at Anfield, even though Liverpool have suffered three consecutive defeats. In January, United played out a 2–2 draw as underdogs. “I was really upset at the end of the game, because we proved that day that we can compete against any opponent,” Amorim said.
“But we can win any game. So if we just think about winning the next game, that’s the most important thing.” one step at a time. While, as he well knows, United have not won consecutive league matches during his reign, Liverpool are consistently aiming to win titles. They live in different worlds. “If we are going to fight to be at the same level as Liverpool in the future, that is the idea,” Amorim said. “I don’t know how long it will take.”