The North West Derby: Manchester United vs Liverpool

Last Updated: April 2026

Manchester United vs Liverpool: How a Shipping Canal Started England’s Biggest Rivalry

The biggest rivalry in English football didn’t begin on a football pitch. It began in 1894, when the Manchester Ship Canal opened – a 36-mile waterway that allowed Manchester to bypass Liverpool’s docks entirely, and turned two prosperous trading partners into economic enemies.

Manchester United were founded in 1878 as Newton Heath LYR FC – a team of workers at the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway. Liverpool came into being on 15 March 1892, after John Houlding – the Everton chairman who owned Anfield – fell out with the club over rising ground rent. Everton left for Goodison Park; Houlding formed Liverpool FC to use the stadium he owned. The two clubs were born 14 years and 35 miles apart, in cities that already had reason to resent one another.

The first competitive meeting came on 28 April 1894 – just months after the Ship Canal opened – when Liverpool beat Newton Heath 2–0. It was the beginning of a fixture that has become, across more than 240 competitive matches, the most watched club rivalry in world football.

The rivalry truly hardened in the 1970s and 80s. Liverpool, under Bill Shankly, Bob Paisley, and Kenny Dalglish, won 11 league titles and four European Cups in under two decades. Old Trafford watched and seethed. The animosity became generational – not just competition between clubs but between cities, identities, and entire ways of seeing English football.

Then came Alex Ferguson, with a stated mission: to knock Liverpool “off their perch.” His United dominated the Premier League era, winning 13 titles to Liverpool’s none during that period. By 2011, United had surpassed Liverpool’s then-record of 18 league titles – removing Liverpool’s status as England’s most successful club.

Liverpool reclaimed their perch under Jürgen Klopp, winning the Champions League in 2019 and ending a 30-year wait for the title in 2020. Then in April 2025, under Arne Slot in his debut season at the club, Liverpool won their 20th league championship – drawing level with United’s record.

Liverpool’s Dynasty, Ferguson’s United and the Modern Era

The fixture’s emotional core is the alternating pattern of dominance. For most of the 1970s and 80s, it was Liverpool’s rivalry to own. Bill Shankly built the foundation; Bob Paisley made them European royalty; Kenny Dalglish sustained it. United fans spent those years watching from a painful distance.

Ferguson ended that. From 1993, his United were the dominant force – thirteen Premier League titles in twenty years. In 2011, the moment of maximum symbolic weight: United surpassed Liverpool’s record of 18 top-flight titles. The stated mission accomplished.

Liverpool’s answer arrived through Klopp and then Slot. A Champions League. A 30-year league drought ended. And in April 2025, the record matched at 20 titles each. It is the most precise summary of what this rivalry is: there is no permanent winner. There is only the next match.

READ MORE: The North West Derby — Deep Dive →

The Complete North West Derby History

The documentary is the introduction. For the complete history – from the Manchester Ship Canal to the 20-title race, every key match, and all important FAQs – read the companion deep dive:

READ MORE: The North West Derby — Deep Dive →