This truly marked a turning point for both clubs.
The dawn of two new eras.
With Sir Alex Ferguson's 27-year reign at Manchester United drawing to a close, a glorious Red Devils dynasty was quietly fading into memory.
In this moment, countless United supporters still clung to dreams of a new golden age.
But only Julien understood the bitter truth—that dominant European force was gone forever, reduced to yellowing photographs in the album of nostalgia. Manchester United had become a club living in its past.
Moyes couldn't reverse the decline. Van Gaal couldn't cure the underlying disease. Even Mourinho's Europa League trophy would be viewed by many fans as the last rays of sunset on United's glory.
Old Trafford would still roar with new crowds, but that heavy crown had long since lost its former brilliance. Eventually, United would even find themselves flirting with the relegation zone.
In stark contrast, a quiet revolution was underway at Anfield.
The revival that should have waited for Klopp's arrival had been accelerated by the Saudi consortium's takeover and Julien's signing. The outside world hadn't fully grasped it yet, but Julien knew with certainty that this rejuvenated Liverpool side would soon force the world to witness their return to European supremacy.
And this North West Derby would be the first collision between England's two greatest clubs in their respective new eras.
Julien was genuinely looking forward to it.
He hoped to use a victory to help United's fans face reality sooner. After all, these two clubs had never gotten along.
After Ferguson took charge of United in 1986, he later made a bold declaration: "My greatest ambition is to knock Liverpool off their perch."
Back then, Liverpool was the undisputed king of English football—eighteen top-flight titles to United's mere seven. The gap was enormous. Liverpool's dominance loomed over United like an immovable mountain, while the Red Devils languished in the valley below, waiting for their chance to rise.
Ferguson's arrival became the turning point in this rivalry.
He built the legendary "Class of '92" through youth development, revolutionized the team's tactics, and completely rebuilt United's playing style. In the 1992-93 season, United won their first Premier League title, marking the beginning of the "Red Devils Dynasty." They were no longer followers trailing in Liverpool's wake, but challengers gradually usurping their rivals' throne.
This continued for nearly twenty years until 2011, when United finally surpassed Liverpool's eighteen titles with their nineteenth, making "changing of the crown" a reality.
Ferguson didn't hide his joy after that triumph. He even allegedly said: "I really wish I could personally hang a '19 Championships' banner at Anfield!"
Those words carried both retaliation for years of Liverpool's dominance and the pride of a generation that had rewritten football's power structure.
The rivalry extended far beyond the pitch, the fans' battles ran even deeper.
In 1994, Liverpool supporters had taunted with mockery: "Come back when you've won eighteen!"
Then in 2011, United fans snuck into Anfield and hung a "Manchester United 19 Championships" banner. Even Ferguson tacitly approved of this somewhat "outrageous" celebration.
Former United captain Gary Neville put it more bluntly: "If anyone ever finds the Liverpool scarf that Kopites buried under my old house's swimming pool, make sure you burn it."
Each provocation and confrontation only tightened the bond between these two clubs.
This death struggle was actually a continuation of centuries-old tensions between the cities of Manchester and Liverpool.
During the Industrial Revolution, the two cities had begun competing. Manchester rose through cotton manufacturing, becoming the workshop of the world embodying the daring, enterprising spirit of industrialism. Liverpool, meanwhile, controlled maritime trade through its port advantage, proud and unyielding in true harbor city fashion.
Disputes over canal taxes and resource allocation saw economic rivalries seep into every aspect of daily life.
United perfectly represented Manchester's "break the old order and charge forward" mentality, while Liverpool symbolized the port city's "defend our glory and never bow" spirit.
Football became the perfect stage for these two cities to settle their rivalry.
Even as Manchester City had risen in recent years to claim their share of Premier League dominance, Liverpool fans' "arch-nemesis" had always remained Manchester United.
This centuries-old rivalry transcended mere trophy counts, it was a collision of two city spirits, two football cultures.
The enmity had evolved beyond simple "hatred" into something deeper and a profound mark that had seeped into the bones of both sets of supporters, becoming an article of faith for every fan.
Up to this point, Liverpool held an inferior head-to-head record against United.
This would be the 188th English National Derby between them. In the previous 187 meetings, Liverpool had won 62, drawn 51, and lost 74 including 53 wins, 44 draws, and 63 losses in league competition alone.
In their last five encounters, Liverpool had managed just one win, one draw, and three losses. That only victory came on January 28, 2012, when Liverpool won 2-1 at home in the FA Cup. Since then, they'd lost three consecutive league matches, all by identical 1-2 scorelines.
Playing at home gave Julien even more reason to believe they had to win this match.
A new era demanded a new statement.
As the club's record signing, he needed to deliver something special.
Moreover, according to English media outlet The Mirror, Liverpool had caught a break as Wayne Rooney, who had just regained form, was injured again.
Before the international break, during training at Carrington, Rooney had collided with Phil Jones and suffered a head wound requiring ten stitches.
Rooney's injury was a blow to United, especially considering his strong performance in their draw with Chelsea, he'd been their best player that day.
It should be noted that Rooney's head laceration was merely a flesh wound requiring only ten days recovery. But the timing was cruel, he'd miss the exact period when both United and England needed him most. Truly the work of fate.
Another English newspaper, The Daily Mail, reported that Rooney had been earmarked as a key starter for Moyes in the North West Derby. With the Scouser sidelined, the Scottish manager would have to adjust his lineup—United legend Ryan Giggs might be inserted into the starting XI, forming a three-pronged attack with Danny Welbeck and Robin van Persie.
Regarding United's injury situation, Moyes provided details: "We have very few injury concerns. Rafael is one of them. Evans got a match under his belt, which we felt he needed having missed preseason. Nani has done more training and is close to returning. Hernández had a slight Achilles issue, but he's been training three to four days now and is much improved."
Moyes even added: "So we're close to having a complete squad, perhaps only Rafael will be absent."
Rafael's absence was a significant loss for United. Last season at Anfield, the Brazilian had been outstanding, scoring the equalizer that set up Van Persie's penalty winner.
Of course, United were without Rooney and Rafael, but Liverpool were missing the suspended Luis Suárez, so both sides felt the impact to some degree.
However, with Julien's arrival, Liverpool's loss didn't feel quite as significant.
The Reds had opened the new season with two consecutive Premier League victories. The last time they'd started so strongly was back in the 1994-95 season. This was also Liverpool's first time on top of the table in over 1,600 days and counting only single-game-week leads, their last summit appearance dated back to January 2009.
That previous occasion had seen them overtaken by United after a series of draws, ultimately surrendering that season's title.
Old grudges and new grievances all rolled into one.
If they could defeat United, Liverpool would achieve their best start in nineteen years.
Before this, Moyes had managed Everton, Liverpool's Merseyside rivals. In twelve visits to Anfield as Toffees boss, he'd never collected all three points, recording seven draws and five defeats. It remained to be seen what result Moyes would achieve in his thirteenth Anfield visit, though his chances were far better this time as he was managing defending champions Manchester United, not Everton.
Additionally, it was worth noting that in Double Red history, United's George Wall held the scoring record with nine goals in twelve matches. Liverpool's Fred Pagnam ranked second with eight goals in eight games, tied with United's Jack Pearson who managed eight in sixteen appearances.
Currently, Steven Gerrard had scored seven goals in thirty derby matches. If he found the net, he'd move into sole possession of second place on the all-time scoring list, behind only George Wall.
Then there was the appearance record. Giggs was extending his own Double Red record, if he played, it would be his 47th appearance, with Jamie Carragher and Paul Scholes tied for second on 33 appearances each, both having retired over the summer.
With Rooney unable to play, Van Persie would definitely lead the line. The Dutchman had scored fourteen league goals in the calendar year, across the entire Premier League, only Aston Villa's Christian Benteke had more with seventeen.
Including this season's four goals in three matches, Van Persie had scored eleven times in his last ten games spanning two campaigns. The Dutch striker's exceptional conversion rate had been crucial to United's strong finish last season.
This season, Van Persie's scoring remained frighteningly consistent. He was chasing his third consecutive Premier League Golden Boot, having claimed the award in each of the previous two seasons.
Van Persie wasn't just prolific, he was Liverpool's nightmare, scoring four goals against them in three consecutive matches for both United and Arsenal.
Julien had absorbed all this data while still on the plane, poring over media reports.
After all, this match represented the pinnacle of current Premier League attention.
Beyond the clubs themselves, the players naturally drew the most media focus and Julien had seen plenty about himself.
"Merseyside's New Weapon: How De Rocca Became the Biggest Variable in the North West Derby"
"This French prodigy, fresh off scoring a crucial World Cup qualifier goal, will experience the smoke of England's Biggest Derby for the first time. His breakthrough ability is a nightmare for United's aging defense, while his composure under pressure is precisely the quality most scarce in life-or-death encounters."
"He Will Erase the Shame of 19! De Rocca Carries Liverpool's Revival Hopes"
"Now Anfield has welcomed a true ace. When De Rocca drives forward with the ball, what rolls beneath his feet isn't merely a football, it's an entire city's hunger for glory."
Sky Sports commentator Martin Tyler analyzed in his preview show: "The statistics show De Rocca averages 5.3 successful dribbles per match this season—data that directly counters United's slow-moving center-back pairing. What's more frightening is his top-level consistency for the national team, plus consecutive late winners for club and country. This composure is Manchester United's greatest enemy!"
United legend Gary Neville warned in his column: "We must use two or even three players to contain De Rocca, otherwise he'll make our defenders look like training ground cones. But the danger is this: if we over-commit to stopping him, Liverpool's other attackers will find space."
Actually, these takes were relatively restrained.
Julien couldn't help thinking: thank God United's manager was the inconspicuous, reserved Moyes.
If it had been Van Gaal, or especially Mourinho, he didn't dare imagine how much drama would happen before this match.
That thought sparked another, Julien was already anticipating Liverpool's upcoming clash with Chelsea. The media would be in absolute heaven. Mourinho would definitely, certainly, without question be "making headlines" left and right. Add in Julien's own Chelsea connections, and the accumulated storylines would be media gold.
They'd absolutely love it.
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