Liverpool will draw back level with Manchester United’s record 20 top-flight trophies if they secure an almost inevitable Premier League title this season, but who actually has the bigger honours board?
Sir Alex Ferguson once said his biggest challenge at Man Utd had been “knocking Liverpool off their perch” after their domination of the 1980s – and he made sure his side had taken their mantle by the time of his retirement, the season United lifted their 20th top-flight trophy.
That put them two ahead of the Reds in 2013, but after Jurgen Klopp helped lift the Premier League hoodoo around Anfield seven years later, Arne Slot is now on the verge of drawing Liverpool back level with their old rivals with a 20th league title of their own, to match their all-time record.
That will be sealed on Wednesday night if Crystal Palace beat Arsenal, live on Sky Sports.
Both Liverpool and Man Utd have long boasted the largest trophy collections in English football. But what about their wider honours board – and who can claim to be the most successful? Read on and cast your own vote at the bottom of the page.
Liverpool to pull level with Man Utd – or are they already ahead?
At the moment, Man Utd have won 68 pieces of major silverware across their history – according to their own honours board. That puts them one ahead of Liverpool, who by those same calculations would be on 67 until they draw level once their second Premier League trophy is confirmed.
A major discrepancy comes with the inclusion of the Community Shield. Things change very quickly if we take that competition out of the equation.
There are views in either camp as to whether it counts as a major trophy; on the “honours board” at Liverpool’s old training ground at Melwood, it was never included alongside their other tournament victories.
And if that is the case, then Liverpool are already four clear of Man Utd – with 51 trophies compared to their 47.
More widely, the answer depends on who you ask. For instance, the FA categorise it as a friendly for disciplinary purposes – yellow and red cards do not carry over into other domestic games. And though nine substitutes may be named, like in a Premier League game, six may be used instead of five in the top flight.
Most questionable may be the inconsistent eligibility for the competition. Since 1974, the Shield has been contested at Wembley between the top-flight league and FA Cup winners. But before that, it was an invitational competition often included teams who had won nothing at all the previous season.
Seven of Man Utd’s titles, and three of Liverpool’s, came prior to that revamp. And some of both sides’ ‘victories’ were actually draws – four of Man Utd’s and five of Liverpool’s – as the Shield used to be shared if the score was level after 90 minutes.
Some players have openly admitted treating it as a friendly. Mikael Silvestre said after beating Arsenal in 2002: “This is still a pre-season game.” But others have defended the competition, with Pep Guardiola calling it the “first final of the season”, though he also complained about the lack of respect it is given.
Claudio Ranieri, Antonio Conte and Mikel Arteta have also come to the competition’s defence in recent years.
Why Man Utd think they could still regain their lead this season
Even with Liverpool’s Premier League triumph an almost inevitability, there is still time for Man Utd to wrestle back their mantle as England’s leading trophy-winner by the end of the season, including Community Shields.
After Man Utd reached the last four of this season’s Europa League by the skin of their teeth against Lyon last week, they could yet add a 69th trophy to their collection by the end of this campaign.
When the Premier League began in 1992 Liverpool were 18 trophies ahead of their rivals, but thanks to Man Utd’s unprecedented success under Ferguson, a Premier League and Community Shield double in 2010/11 was enough to put them ahead for the first time since the early 1970s.
They have led the way almost ever since, though four trophies in the final three seasons of the Klopp era briefly drew Liverpool level after their Carabao Cup triumph last February.
Man Utd quickly hit back to re-establish their lead by winning the FA Cup against Man City in May – a feat they could yet repeat in Bilbao next month.
But what do you think? Who actually is the most successful club in English football? Have your say by voting below…
