Liverpool and Manchester United have been involved in some memorable matches over the years whereas some of them were fought in an ill-tempered manner resulting in many red cards over the years.
This being the most important fixture in English football, players have sometimes lost their way playing in these games as one such incident happened in 2011 where Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher lunged into Luis Nani and surprisingly received just a yellow card.
Jamie Carragher along with Gary Neville recently spoke about that incident on Sky Sports where the Liverpool defender was lucky not to be sent off as he caught the Portuguese on the shin with his boot in a 3-1 victory for Liverpool with Dirk Kuyt scoring a hat-trick for the Reds. This hot-tempered game was remembered for Carragher's dangerous tackle while also being in the headlines for capturing Luis Nani literally crying on the field.
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Carragher said, "I was on favourable terms with the referee Phil Dowd. I got him on my own, pulled him and said he just beat me with skills. Everyone is fighting and I got him over like an experienced pro. Did I think it was a red card at the time? Oh yeah. I’ve seen the reaction of all the players but like I said, I got Phil Dowd on his own, had a word with him and we came to some sort of a deal."
When asked by Neville about his favourite memory from that game except not getting a red card, Carragher replied, "Haha. No, not so much the tackle but Wayne Rooney’s reaction. Wayne Rooney comes over and says ‘you won’t believe it, he’s crying’." Nani had to be stretchered off the field after Carragher's tackle as United players hounded the referee to issue a red card for the Liverpool man but Phil Dowd was in no mood to listen to them.
Influencing the referee is a part of the game
Gary Neville too agreed with his partner on Sky Sports as he said, "Part of the big games is influencing the referee. You had to. Arsenal did it, Liverpool did it, we did it. Other clubs like Chelsea did it and I genuinely believe you could influence them. Not in a way that makes them a cheat or dishonest, no, but just that the pressure of being in Anfield or Old Trafford with that weight, it’s not easy."
Manchester United visit Liverpool on Monday with this being the first time Jurgen Klopp and Jose Mourinho face each other in the Premier League as the managers of the bitter rivals. Liverpool sit fourth in the league table while the Red Devils are sixth, three points behind Klopp's men.
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