Liverpool vs Manchester United. There are very few clashes that get the players and the fans fired up to this extent. The two most successful English clubs have been the biggest of rivals since ages and the rivalry is all set to continue on Monday night in the Premier League fixture at Anfield.
The managers are under immense pressure to deliver the result in such a huge contest and it will be no different for ‘The Normal One,’ Jurgen Klopp and ‘The Special One’, Jose Mourinho.
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Jurgen Klopp completed one year as Liverpool manager recently and you can see the German’s stamp on this current Liverpool team with their ‘gegenpressing’ football. Klopp has turned this team into an attacking machine with the likes of Firmino, Coutinho and Lallana enjoying their best spells at Anfield under the 49-year old. Summer signings Sadio Mane and Joel Matip have also been impressive.
After taking over from an uninspiring Brendan Rodgers, Klopp has turned this Liverpool outfit into top contenders for the Premier League title this season after guiding them to Europa League finals last year.
Jose Mourinho, after an unceremonious exit from Chelsea, was appointed as manager of Manchester United, bringing an end to a mundane two-year spell of Louis van Gaal. The Portuguese kicked off in style, bringing in superstar Zlatan Ibrahimovic and record-signing Paul Pogba to Old Trafford.
It was touted to be the dawn of a new era for the Red Devils, under the controversial Jose, and everything seemed set for their rise to the top of club football once again.
But things haven’t gone according to plans for the Mancunians with losses against rivals Manchester City and Watford and a draw against Stoke City leaving the Old Trafford club at the sixth position, 3 points behind their opponents on Monday.
Also Read: Liverpool vs Manchester United: Combined XI
The performances have improved, the football is more direct, the team plays with more attacking verve. But Jose still has a long way to go to turn this star-ensemble into a title winning team.
Klopp and Mourinho have faced each other five times before. There were words exchanged between the two, things were said, but it was Klopp who came out victorious three times against the mercurial Portuguese. As the world gears up for the titanic clash on Monday night, we take a look at the past meetings between the two managers and how they panned out:
#1 Borussia Dortmund 2-1 Real Madrid (Champions League Group D, October 2012)
Klopp and Mourinho first went head-to-head when they were in charge at Borussia Dortmund and Real Madrid respectively in a Champions League group clash. Both the teams were part of the group of death with then-English Champions Manchester City and Dutch heavyweights Ajax.
Cristiano Ronaldo scored the only goal for Los Blancos but could not help his team take any points at the Westfalenstadion as goals from Polish striker Robert Lewandowski and German left-back Marcel Schmelzer either side of the half-time sealed the victory for Dortmund and Klopp in what was a thrilling contest between the two sides.
The German side let Madrid have the ball for the most of the game and hit them on the counter, beating Madrid at their own game. Klopp, after the match, said, “It feels overwhelming. It was a sensational evening, and you can only imagine something like this in your wildest dreams”, describing the emotions on beating the 11 time Champions League winners.
#2 Real Madrid 2-2 Borussia Dortmund (Champions League Group D, November 2012)
It was not long before the two came face to face again as Mourinho and Madrid entertained Dortmund at the Santiago Bernabeu for their second group clash in the Champions League.
Klopp’s side put an exhilarating display in the first half as they took a deserved lead through Marco Reus. Pepe scored the leveller for Madrid but an Alvaro Arbeloa own goal meant the first half ended with Dortmund leading 2-1.
And it would have stayed the same if not for a Mesut Ozil free kick in the dying minutes of the game that salvaged Madrid a point. The Merengues were outplayed in their own backyard and were lucky to come away with a point from the fixture.
Klopp claimed further bragging rights as his team topped Group D with Jose’s Madrid side coming in second as both the teams qualified from the group.
#3 Borussia Dortmund 4-1 Real Madrid (Champions League semi-final first leg, April 2013)
With a place in the Champions League final at Wembley Stadium at stake, the two head coaches met again at the Signal Iduna Park in the semi-finals and Mourinho was once again made to taste defeat.
Ronaldo scored again at the Westfalenstadion in the first half after Robert Lewandowski had given BVB an early lead. The Polish frontman blew away the visitors in a 15-minute period in the second half as he went on to score three goals leaving the Madrid defence bruised and battered.
Video Courtesy: Memorable Match
This was Real's third consecutive Champions League semi-final appearance under Jose Mourinho and having lost the previous two, this 4-1 loss left his team on the brink of another semi-final exit.
This was the Portuguese's biggest defeat in 106 Champions League games. After the annihilation, a very frustrated Mourinho was clearly unhappy with his players as he said, "When we know everything, absolutely everything about Lewandowski -- we studied every detail possible and we lose him in three balls -- and we know exactly what he does, and it is of course very disappointing."
#4 Real Madrid 2-0 Borussia Dortmund (Champions League semi-final second leg, April 2013)
There were a lot of things said by both managers in the build-up to this match, the mind games were on.
“I have said a little bit about Dortmund and that's enough," said Mourinho ahead of the match. "Since the day of the draw, Klopp talks every day."
The Dortmund boss was hardly affected by his counterpart’s message though and he responded: "Mourinho says I speak too much? That's what one of my teachers used to tell me. I don't care, I don't think about this."
Gonzalo Higuaín, Cristiano Ronaldo and Mesut Ozil all missed clear opportunities in a breathless start as Madrid looked to overcome the 4-1 deficit from the first leg. But the momentum was lost and the game appeared to be drifting to a close until Benzema's 83rd minute goal set up a dramatic finish.
Chants began in the stadium: "Yes, we can!" There was a belief among the fans that the Galacticos could pull it off. And then, Sergio Ramos smashed one into the roof of the net in the 88th minute. One more goal and Madrid would be in the finals but it never came.
Mourinho had beaten the German for the first time, he had won the day’s battle but Klopp had won the war.
#5 Chelsea 1-3 Liverpool (Premier League, October 2015)
The two managers went head-to-head for the first time in the Premier League after Klopp was handed the reins at Liverpool three weeks before the match at Stamford Bridge.
Mourinho’s Chelsea coming on the back of a title-winning season were struggling near the bottom of the table and Mourinho was under some amount of pressure coming into this game. On the other hand, Klopp was yet to get his first Premier League victory with his new side.
The match began with the Blues taking an early lead through Ramires. But Brazilian playmaker Coutinho equalized for Liverpool on the stroke of half-time. Further goals from the Liverpool No.10 and Christian Benteke condemned the champions to a 3-1 defeat at home.
It was their sixth of the season in eleven games, sparking a bizarre post-match interview from Jose as he kept on repeating he had ‘nothing to say’. Klopp though, had some kind words for his opposite number, as he said: “I feel for him of course, but it's work."
Chelsea’s season never recovered from the dismal start as they finished the season at tenth, two places behind Liverpool, with Mourinho getting the sack mid-season.
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