Opinion | Liverpool winning the Premier League title would be the best thing for Manchester United

There has been no clearer indication of just how much the tables have turned between Manchester United and Liverpool than the withering put-downs coming from Anfield. Asked if he thinks United can do his side a favour by beating Manchester City at Old Trafford on Wednesday, Klopp responded drily. “It doesn’t look like at the moment that Man United can really ... what was the result [against Everton]? 3-0? 4-0? So we’ll see, City will be ready and we’ll see if United are ready as well.” Van Dijk took the trolling a step further when asked the same question. “They [United] need to do themselves a favour,” the Dutchman said. Of course, these statements are likely to just be mind games. The Reds are one point ahead of City, who have a game in hand, with an inferior goal difference at the top of the Premier League, so know that things are out of their control with four games to go – so why not use a bit of reverse psychology? Get United fired up to prove a point by taking one (or three) points from the visit of their neighbours, while Liverpool can go about the far easier task of facing relegated Huddersfield at home, and ideally leapfrog City. The 20-time champions will be loath to hand Liverpool the advantage in the title race, especially considering it took so long to “knock them off their perch” as Alex Ferguson termed his mission. Liverpool are looking for their 19th league title, and what would be their first Premier League crown. They have not won the league for 29 years, and it is tantalisingly close. This is Liverpool’s best Premier League team in history, with several world-class players – Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane, Van Dijk – and others not far off that label like Alisson Becker, Andy Robertson, Roberto Firmino and Fabinho. They have already achieved the club’s highest Premier League points total. That’s why United fans, though it will be a hard pill to swallow, must get over it. They must accept Liverpool are a far superior side, and are likely to be for years to come. There have been times in the years since Ferguson retired that Liverpool have been in the ascendancy over United. But never for so sustained a period as this. Brendan Rodgers was a Steven Gerrard slip away from guiding Liverpool to the title in the disastrous days of David Moyes, but United finished above their rivals the next season. Since Klopp replaced the Northern Irishman in 2015, however, Liverpool have looked head and shoulders above United on the pitch. Yes, United finished second last season, but Liverpool were hardly also-rans – they were just six points behind in fourth, and reached the Champions League final. And it speaks volumes that Jose Mourinho said that second-placed finish (a whopping 19 points behind champions City) was one of his greatest achievements in football. Mourinho didn’t fancy his United squad, and it seems Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is now understanding why after replacing him in December. “I’m going to be successful here and there are players there who will not be part of that successful team,” Solskjaer said after the 4-0 defeat by Everton. While the Old Trafford board have dithered for the last decade in the transfer market, Klopp and Liverpool have quietly gone about assembling one of the top five teams in Europe, piece by piece. The German’s team has improved in each year of his reign – he has identified the weaknesses, and then identified the perfect solutions. Klopp has not taken a scattergun approach and just tried to fill the gaps with whatever expensive (and average) stars are available, like Alexis Sanchez, Romelu Lukaku and Marcos Rojo. No, the former Borussia Dortmund manager has waited to secure world-class players in Van Dijk at centre back and Alisson in goal. Not even losing Philippe Coutinho to Barcelona has set them back. In contrast, United have lurched from one short-sighted splurge to another on stop-gap signings under Moyes, Louis van Gaal and Mourinho. “For me it’s the best game we could have. There’s no hiding place. The world’s watching. The whole of Manchester is watching. Liverpool is watching,” Solskjaer said this week. “Our players’ pride has been hurt badly – my pride, the club’s pride. The game is a great chance to put things right. We know we have a way to go to get where we want to be but it’s a step; we can show the standards we want to have.” Liverpool winning the title may actually be the best thing for United – it would fire them back up again like in the days of Ferguson, to make sure they stay on top of their perch. United have been lackadaisical for too long while City and Chelsea have dominated the title picture, safe in the knowledge they are at least better than their fiercest rivals Liverpool. No more.