Ferguson took 27 y to ‘knock LIV off’ but Slot could undo that in first season

SIR ALEX FERGUSON famously claimed his biggest challenge as Manchester United manager was “knocking Liverpool off their f****** perch”.

When the great Scot left Old ­Trafford after clinching one last  Premier League title in 2013, it was mission f****** accomplished.

But what Fergie achieved during the course of a glorious 27-year reign, new Kop manager Arne Slot is threatening to undo in his debut season.

The crown United won 12 years ago was their 20th, putting them two clear of Liverpool at the top of the list of English champions.

Jurgen Klopp brought the Merseysiders back to within one of United by clinching the crown in 2019-20.

So if Slot can convert his team’s current lead at the top of the table into a trophy lift in May, he will put them level with their North-West rivals.

And given Liverpool’s superior European Cup and Champions League record — with six wins to United’s three — the Anfield faithful would once more have the numbers to back their claim to be England’s greatest club.

The one crumb of comfort for United fans in recent years is the other lot down the M62 have failed to take advantage of United’s decline in the same way Fergie filled his boots during Liverpool’s barren years.

Many Reds supporters would argue their team fell off that perch rather than being pushed by United.

Poor recruitment and a failure to exploit the commercial opportunities of the Premier League breakaway cost the Kop dear as much as United’s quality under Fergie.

In between Kenny Dalglish’s third and final league title as Liverpool boss in 1990 and Klopp’s victory 30 years later, Ferguson and United were champions 13 times.

After Klopp announced his decision to leave Anfield last January — and his second bid for a Quadruple fell even flatter than the first — United supporters probably breathed a sigh of relief.

They have seen just how hard it is to replace an iconic manager and to compete with those other noisy neighbours, Manchester City.

But Slot has come in to Anfield — and, rather than picking up where Klopp left off, has coaxed new levels from a group of players who looked spent when finishing third in last season’s three-way title race.

So the United faithful will travel to Anfield for Sunday’s game fearing not only another hiding on the day but also a more long-lasting kick in the guts at the end of the season.

The Red Devils’ recent Premier League record against Liverpool is humiliating, with just one win in the last eight meetings and six goals scored compared to the Reds’ 26.

Losing to your fiercest rivals is bad enough, but the manner of the defeats has often been shocking.

In the 2021-22 season, Klopp’s Reds won 5-0 at Old Trafford and then 4-0 at home. But United’s real nadir came at Anfield on March 5, 2023 when Liverpool scored seven without reply.

It was not only the biggest margin of victory in a rivalry dating back to 1894, it also equalled the worst defeat of United’s entire history.

Yet most Liverpool supporters would swap a one-off thrashing like that for another championship.

And despite their team’s apparent superiority right now, there will be a small voice of caution in the back of the mind of all but the most optimistic fans.

Because failing to beat United damaged title bids led by Klopp more than once.

In February 2019, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side held Liverpool to a 0-0 draw at Anfield. The Reds finished one agonising point behind City at the end of the season.

And Erik ten Hag’s United drew both league games against Klopp’s side last season.

Had Liverpool beaten United at Old Trafford on April 7, they would have been level on points with City and two ahead of Arsenal with six games to go.

But after Mo Salah’s late penalty salvaged a 2-2 draw, Liverpool lost at home to Crystal Palace the following weekend and watched another title chance slip away.

There is further encouragement for United fans that their team can still lift themselves when playing Liverpool and form can go out the window in this fiercely-contested derby.

Bruno Fernandes grabbed the  winner in a 3-2 FA Cup fourth round victory in January 2021.

And most memorably last March, United came from behind twice to beat Liverpool 4-3 in the sixth round and went on to lift the trophy.

The hero of that Old Trafford ­victory was Amad Diallo, with a dramatic winner in  stoppage-time at the end of extra-time. Or, to put it another way, in Fergie time.

How the United fans would love another shock win for new boss Ruben Amorim’s side on Sunday.

And recapture hope their club can remain alone on the title-winning perch where Ferguson left them.