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Liverpool vs. Manchester United: A history of red cards

Liverpool and Manchester United is one of the most anticipated games in every Premier League seas...



Liverpool vs. Manchester Unite...
Soccer

Liverpool vs. Manchester United: A history of red cards

Liverpool and Manchester United is one of the most anticipated games in every Premier League season, given the history and the rivalry between the two clubs, and Monday night sees the two teams going head to head once again.

As you might expect, when a game has so much build up, pressure and flash points, there is a long history of players letting their emotions get the better of them and seeing red, both figuratively and literally. 

In recent memory, there have been very few games between the two sides where there hasn't been some sort of incident, and Anthony Taylor will have a very difficult night ahead of him on Monday, and not just because the FA have already taken criticism over his appointment

The game has produced plenty of flying tackles, fights between players and, of course, red cards, so here's a look back at some of the ones that have stuck out in the memory. 

Steven Gerrard, 2015

With the time ticking down on his Anfield career, Gerrard ensured that his final appearance against one of their biggest rivals didn't last too long. He came on at half time, and decided to kick out at Ander Herrera less than a minute afterwards.

Jamie Carragher, 2011 

Right, while this wasn't a red card, it's pretty much an honorary one given the injury that Nani was left with. Carragher's lunge raked down his shin and left the Portuguese winger in tears, needing to be stretchered off, and a scuffle erupted between...well pretty much everyone left standing on the field at the time.

Image: Peter Byrne PA Archive/Press Association Images

Carragher has since admitted that he worked out a bit of a deal with referee Phil Dowd to avoid a red card by speaking to him professionally, while everyone else started pushing and shoving, and added that he hadn't gone in to hurt Nani. 

Speaking on Sky Sports, Carragher said that he had been moved out to right back, and decided: "I’m either going to get tight, I’m going to tackle him or I’m going to foul him. There’s no way I’m letting him get the ball and run at me."

Unfortunately for Nani, the ball went past Carragher and left him on the receiving end of a Carragher special.  

Nemanja Vidic, 2009

This was not the only time that Vidic saw red in a game against Liverpool (he used to love getting sent off against them for some reason) but perhaps his most memorable game in which he was issued his marching orders was Liverpool's 4-1 win at Old Trafford. 

Vidic had been stung by Torres for the first goal, and with 15 minutes left, Vidic decided to simply haul Gerrard down as he was running through towards Edwin van der Sar. 

Paul Scholes, 2007

Little Scholesy never did learn to tackle did he? Despite that, he was sent off in a rather bizarre incident where he failed to make any actual contact with a player. Trying to land what looked to be a Street Fighter-style punch, he hit out at Xabi Alonso and missed by a fair distance. 

Still, the referee decided that the attempted dig was enough to see him taking an early bath.

Jonjo Shelvey, 2012 

They don't get more memorable than this one, really. The two-footed lunge, the screaming at Sir Alex Ferguson on the way off the pitch... 

If you're going to go, you might as well go out in style. 

Are there any other red cards that you think merit inclusion on this list? Tweet us in and let us know.

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