Liverpool v Manchester City: Five memorable encounters
With Liverpool hoping to put Manchester City to the sword again when they face Manuel Pellegrini's side in the final of the Capital One Cup at Wembley, we have picked out five of the Reds' most memorable games against Sunday's opponents.
League Cup semi-final - February 1981
En route to winning the League Cup for the first time, Bob Paisley’s team saw off the challenge of City in a tense semi-final clash. In front of a crowd of 48,045 at Maine Road, a solitary goal from Ray Kennedy had given the Reds a vital lead heading into the second leg at Anfield.
The Kop were going crazy when Kenny Dalglish gave the Reds an advantage and made it 2-0 on aggregate after just 23 minutes, and despite Kevin Reeves pulling a goal back, there would be no denying the hosts.
After the FA Cup fourth-round defeat by Everton, this was a sweet way to book a Wembley ticket, and a first success in the League Cup was to follow after a replay victory over West Ham United at Villa Park.
Carling Cup semi-final - January 2012
Liverpool reached the Carling Cup final after a brilliant 3-2 aggregate victory over City in the semi-final.
Dalglish’s side went into the decisive second leg at Anfield protecting a 1-0 lead courtesy of Steven Gerrard’s penalty and hopes were high that King Kenny could lead the Reds to Wembley once again.
In front of a capacity crowd of 44,590, City drew level in the tie when Nigel de Jong fired home a brilliant strike, but another Gerrard penalty saw the game swing straight back in Liverpool's favour.
Edin Dzeko then levelled the scores again but in a moment of pure fairytale, Craig Bellamy coolly netted in front of the Kop against his former club to send the Reds back to a ground they used to label 'Anfield south'.
Glory was to ensue at Wembley as Dalglish oversaw a shootout victory over Cardiff City – ensuring he had won every domestic trophy as a Liverpool manager.
FA Cup quarter-final - March 1988
Liverpool reached the FA Cup semi-finals after a pulsating display at Maine Road. This was attacking football at its most ruthless as Dalglish’s side kept hopes of another league and FA Cup double alive.
Going into the game without injured star striker John Aldridge, many pundits believed an upset could be on the cards, but stand-in forward Craig Johnston had an outstanding game as the Aussie’s non-stop running caused the City defence a lot of problems.
One from Ray Houghton and a penalty from Peter Beardsley put the Reds in the driving seat and when Johnston deservedly added a third goal, the tie was over. However, the best was to still to come as John Barnes made it 4-0 after a devastating one-two with Beardsley.
Of course, Wimbledon were to prove the party-poopers in the final, but the 1987-88 team is regarded by many observers as one of the finest attacking sides to ever grace Anfield.
Division One - April 1982
Paisley’s Liverpool took a major step towards the league title with a wonderful display at Maine Road.
With Ray Clemence having moved on and new goalkeeper Bruce Grobbelaar coming under scrutiny following a series of erratic displays, some pundits were saying this was the end of Liverpool’s glorious dynasty – especially when City had beaten the Reds 3-1 at Anfield on Boxing Day and they slumped to 12th place in the table.
How wrong they were as, following on from a 1-0 victory over arch-rivals Manchester United at Old Trafford, the travelling Kop were celebrating again in Manchester just three days later.
From the moment Sammy Lee smashed an unstoppable free-kick beyond the reach of Joe Corrigan after just eight minutes, you knew this was going to be Liverpool’s day. The final score was 5-0 but it could have been double that such was the attacking mindset of Paisley’s side.
Five different scorers found the net that day, with Phil Neal, Johnston, Alan Kennedy and Ian Rush also on the mark.
Barclays Premier League - November 2015
Liverpool produced their most impressive display of the season so far as evident signs of the future at Anfield under Jürgen Klopp were very much on display at the Etihad.
Roberto Firmino and Philippe Coutinho were at their brilliant best and City just could not cope with the adventurous formation set up by the manager.
It took just seven minutes for the Reds to strike first, when Firmino’s teasing cross was turned into his own net by Eliaquim Mangala.
Firmino then set up Coutinho to add a second before Liverpool’s No.11 grabbed a deserved goal from a wonderful move involving a delightful backheel by Emre Can.
Sergio Aguero pulled one back from long range, but Martin Skrtel made it a great day out in Manchester with a devastating finish.