This Sunday, Liverpool will travel to Manchester United in the Premier League. Carragher wrote in a column for The Telegraph: "Don't underestimate Old Trafford, even the greatest Liverpool have been frozen". The following is a translation sharing:
There are two stadiums in the world that are the most challenging for Liverpool players.
One is Old Trafford and the other is Goodison Park. Both of these places will be the way for Liverpool to win the title this season and will have a direct impact on whether Jurgen Klopp can bid farewell to Anfield with the Premier League title.
As Liverpool manager, Jurgen Klopp has had such an experience. In 2019, Liverpool knew there were two games that would be particularly tough in the title race against Manchester City – away at Manchester United and Everton.
That season, Jurgen Klopp's side won 10 of their last 12 Premier League games. The two draws came at Old Trafford and Goodison respectively, with Manchester City winning the title by one point. The weight of these two games and the significance they involve, is the biggest reason why Liverpool have failed to win these two games.
The difference this time is that 90 points could be enough to become champions – six wins and two draws could have put Liverpool on the line. (Note: This means Manchester City and Arsenal need to drop points as well.) ）
But Arsenal and Manchester City will be confident with the remainder of Liverpool's fixtures that they could miss out on their arch-rivals again. They are not at all worried that Manchester United or Everton will do everything in their power to prevent Jurgen Klopp from winning the title.
Since taking charge of Liverpool, Jurgen Klopp has won just four of his 17 visits to Manchester United and Everton. Four of those 10 visits to Old Trafford have been lost (two wins, four draws).
It's often said that in a game at a level like Sunday, it's more important to deal with the opposition team itself than to deal with the lively atmosphere on the pitch. I disagree with this statement.
When Liverpool play Manchester United, you have to face both, otherwise you won't be able to cope with what might happen. These games mean so much more to everyone associated with the club.
This pressure, combined with the quality of the opposition, has always made the journey to Manchester United particularly difficult, even for the greatest Liverpool team.
One of the key factors in United's 4-3 win over Liverpool in the recent FA Cup tie was that nine of the Liverpool players who started or came off the bench in that game were visiting the Reds for the first time.
Both Liverpool and Manchester United's new signings are reminded by team-mates and staff that there will be one game different each season, but you have to experience it to understand. We've seen time and time again that the challenge is often too high for players who are playing at Old Trafford or Anfield for the first time in an away kit.
Throughout the 80s of the 20th century, Liverpool were the best team in Europe for a long time, failing to finish in the top two of the league only once, but they enjoyed only one victory at Old Trafford. In the 90s, they also won only one game at Old Trafford.
It was because Liverpool had only two wins in those 20 years that I was particularly proud to be part of the Liverpool team that turned the tide in the early 2000s by winning three times in four years at Old Trafford. But that's just an anomaly. Over the past 20 years, Liverpool have lost 12 Premier League games at Old Trafford and won five.
On the face of it, this seems like a bad record. In fact, a 25% win rate on the home side of a sworn enemy is already impressive, which reflects how tough it is to go there and play.
It's a stadium where you feel the weight of history at the very beginning of the game, you feel the atmosphere of the unusual atmosphere for 90 minutes, and you don't feel comfortable no matter what the score is.
Anfield is usually more known for the lively atmosphere, as if it were more difficult for a Manchester United player to visit Liverpool than for a Liverpool player. I can assure you, just as difficult.
Anfield is a tight space and when the crowd is at its best, the United players feel like an oppressive arena, while Old Trafford feels bigger, almost like Wembley, and there is a lot of space for the United players to take advantage of. You can never relax because you're afraid that the trend of the game will change in an instant.
And once the game turns around, your legs will become heavy, and you will feel helpless when the home team players and fans smell blood. Old Trafford is one of those places where many players freeze.
It doesn't matter how bad one side or the other is in the weeks leading up to this game. Manchester United and Liverpool have always found a quicker pace, tougher scramble and more determination to ensure they have no regrets on the pitch. Home fans always bring extra sound. I'm sure regular United fans will agree that the FA Cup three weeks ago felt like they were watching different teams at different stadiums, unlike what they've witnessed for most, if not all, of the season.
When all these factors come together, there is a belief that is based on so many classic examples: there is no difficulty that cannot be overcome.
Liverpool's recent defeat to Manchester United brought back bad memories for me. My first game at Old Trafford was the FA Cup in 1999 when we were 1-0 up on 88 minutes but lost 2-1. Manchester United later won the treble. We stood on the pitch stunned, wondering what had just happened, how we could have fallen into the abyss from a position where victory was in sight.
Our Liverpool side is not as strong as Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool, but I know the players of Uncle Scumbag felt the same way three weeks ago.
In fact, it was one of Klopp's positives for Sunday's game. The fact that the memory of the FA Cup defeat is still fresh makes it easier for him to warn his players not to make the same mistakes.
Last month's FA Cup tie also reminded me of the famous Anfield game in 1994, when Alex Ferguson's United went 3-0 up after 24 minutes but were eventually held 3-3 by Liverpool. Considering the strength of both sides at the time, the match completely defied the logic of football. It's also a testament to how an iconic pitch can impact a team in the midst of a deafening noise.
Before the two games against Manchester United this season – the first of which was a 0-0 draw at Anfield – I couldn't help but feel that even some Liverpool fans had fallen into the trap of thinking they would only have to beat an inconsistent and inferior Manchester United side without worrying about the history and traditions of the game. The same could happen when Liverpool head to Goodison Stadium later this month. Such an idea would be a grave mistake.
Everton's form has been generally poor since Jurgen Klopp's arrival in England, but they have still managed to pick points from Liverpool.
We often say "the championship is in the sprint", but there is no clear starting point. For Manchester City and Arsenal, last week's showdown was like the final sprint.
And for Liverpool, the real sprint will begin at Old Trafford on Sunday.