Having left a pretty bad mark in their latest meeting with Manchester United, Liverpool apparently wants their upcoming meeting against Sir Alex Ferguson’s side in the FA Cup returns as a memorable fixture in a footballing way.
This wish is being revealed by the Reds’ captain, Steven Gerrard, who felt that what happened in both clubs’ previous meeting have pretty much gave more negative aspect towards his team which is obviously not related with football.
Gerrard hopes that the upcoming match could really be a spectacle and made the headline due to the quality performances that both teams put out instead of some negativity such as racism incidents which caught Luis Suarez. The midfielder also added that a rivalry battle such as Liverpool against Man United should always produced stories about how intense the match was instead of non related stories with football.
Liverpool and Manchester United is a massive rivalry and there is going to be stuff in the newspapers and banter between fans. But it would be fantastic if it is remembered for being a top game and, from our point of view, a Liverpool win. We all have a responsibility to ensure this game is remembered for the football. We don’t want any front-page stories from this game or any stories which are not about a football match between two top sides – and may the best team win,” Gerrard revealed.
The captain obviously is trying to take away all the negativity aspect that so far has done more damage to Liverpool instead of adding some positive impact, since losing Suarez along with receiving tons of critics are not actually something good for the Reds. Having more negative things could affected the players’ mentality considering they’re not actually having a very consistent season so far, despite managed to pick up some good results against big teams.
Beating Manchester United in the FA Cup would also give a big lift for Liverpool especially after their recent success in defeating current league leader, Manchester City in the Carling Cup. Upsetting two Manchester duo in the local cups might be a morale boost they’re looking for to improver their current league position in the table and chase their target, which is qualifying for Champions League football next season.
photo credit: Ben Sutherland
