WHY DO LIVERPOOL AND MAN’ UNITED HATE EACH OTHER?

Liverpool and Manchester United share one of the fiercest rivalries in football and fans around the world will tonight tune in to see them clash in the Premier League.

But what fuels the animosity between two sides separated by a mere 35 miles and who both have more immediate local enemies in Everton and Manchester City?
History
The first meeting between Liverpool and Man United, then known as Newton Heath, took place in 1894, two months after the opening of the Manchester Ship Canal, which drove a massive wedge between the two industrial cities.

The 36-mile long canal enabled the merchants and manufacturers of Manchester to bypass the expensive railway between the two cities and avoid paying dock fees and other charges in Merseyside. It was a boon for Manchester, but had a serious impact on the port city of Liverpool.

“So began a loathing that never waned,” says The Sun, and the waxing and waning of the two cities economic fortunes has played a huge part.