Fred waiting for Alisson in tunnel, Keane's fury and "after the game" warning

Manchester United vs Liverpool is arguably England's fiercest rivalry.

Sure, the Red Devils and Leeds have had some bitter tussles over the years, as have the likes of West Ham and Millwall. But United's derby with Liverpool is one that is steeped in history and tradition. Both teams have harboured their fair share of hard nuts, from Roy Keane, Bryan Robson and Nemanja Vidic at United to Graeme Souness, Tommy Smith and Steve McMahon at Liverpool.

Football has evolved in recent years, with the macho hardman persona slowly dying out. It's something that is largely celebrated in helping portray the game as progressive, but it's safe to say it certainly riles the old guard.

In January 2020, Brazil international Fred waited in the Anfield tunnel for his compatriot Alisson after Liverpool had comfortably turned over the Red Devils 2-0 in the Premier League.

Back in the day, this would have likely been the prelude to a fight between the two players; at the very least it would have been some sort of confrontation. But instead, Fred merely wanted Alisson's shirt.

Liverpool's Inside Anfield tunnel cam showed the midfielder briefly speaking to the keeper before the footage cut away. The purpose of the chat was later revealed as Alisson walked away without his own shirt while carrying a United one in his hand.

A year earlier in October 2019, Man United played host to Liverpool at Old Trafford, in a match that finished level with Marcus Rashford opening the scoring for the home side before Adam Lallana equalised for the Reds.

Again, before the match, both sets of players could be seen interacting in the tunnel before walking out onto the pitch and on this occasion, Red Devils legend Keane couldn't help but lose his temper at the images.

He said on Sky Sports: "You're going to war - hugging, kissing - don't even look at them. You're going to war and you're hugging each other." Keane warned the players should only be interacting once the match had been played, before quickly changing his mind. "Chat to them after the game,' he added. "Or maybe not even chat to them."

Interestingly, the last time the two sides faced each other was a spicy affair in which Liverpool ran out 5-0 winners over their rivals Manchester United at Old Trafford.

Mohamed Salah netted a hat-trick on the day, with Naby Keita and Diogo Jota also getting on the scoresheet. Paul Pogba was sent off for the Red Devils while Cristiano Ronaldo narrowly avoided being handed his marching orders after kicking out at Curtis Jones.