Liverpool, Manchester United, Socceroos and A-League greats meet in five-a-side tournament in Adelaide

IT WASN’T quite Anfield or Old Trafford, but Liverpool and Manchester United greats rolled back the years on Saturday night to put on a show for their adoring SA supporters.

Manchester United's Louis Saha moving between Liverpool's Jan Kromkamp and Fabio Aurelio on Saturday night.

IT WASN’T quite Anfield or Old Trafford, but Liverpool and Manchester United greats rolled back the years on Saturday night to put on a show for their adoring SA supporters.

Past players from English soccer’s most successful clubs went head-to-head at Adelaide Arena demonstrating that advancing years had done nothing to dull their fierce rivalry.

Liverpool edged out a Socceroos side in a penalty shootout in the final to secure the silverware in the inaugural Battle of the Reds, an indoor five-a-side tournament which also featured an A-League team. The final finished 3-3 before the penalty shootout.

Manchester United's Louis Saha moving between Liverpool's Jan Kromkamp and Fabio Aurelio on Saturday night.

But it was the brilliance of the Merseyside giants’ Spanish star Luis Garcia and goalkeeper David James, as well as the Red Devils’ French striker Louis Saha and Czech gun Karel Poborsky which most caught the eye.

Any doubts the veterans had turned up for a social kick about were dispelled midway through the first eight-minute half of the opening fixture of the night.

Luis Garcia of Liverpool applauds the crowd.

Liverpool’s David Thompson did not take kindly to a trip by the Socceroos’ Dean Heffernan and a scuffle between both sets of players and their benches ensued.

Thompson and Heffernan were the first players sent to the sin bin for their troubles.

Liverpool Legends goalkeeper David James makes a save.

Fears Heffernan and former Manchester United star Keith Gillespie would meet again after Gillespie elbowed Heffernan in the face in a charity match in June were dispelled when both players remained on the bench when the Socceroos team met the Man U team on Saturday night.

Former Adelaide United captain John McKain scored the opening goal of the night to propel the Australian side to a 3-1 victory over the Reds.

Manchester United’s Karel Poborsky in action against Liverpool.

Saha, a UEFA Champions League winner with Manchester United in 2008, showed he had lost none of his class with a superb brace and a cheeky assist in the Red Devils’ 4-2 win over the A-League team.

Liverpool’s David Thompson doesn’t take kindly to a trip from the Socceroos’s Dean Heffernan.

The clash most fans had turned up for did not disappoint.

Five-time European kings Liverpool looked to have secured a 3-2 win over its traditional adversaries, thanks to a Garcia double and a strike by the impressive Brazilian Fabio Aurelio.

The Liverpool legends after winning the final on Saturday night.

But just as the Reds’ famous You’ll Never Walk Alone anthem rang out from the diehards in Adelaide’s version of the Kop, United’s Cameroonian cult figure Eric Djemba Djemba equalised.

Socceroos Legend’s Jon McKain (right) challenges Liverpool Legend’s Jan Kromkamp for the ball.

The banter between loyal fans of both clubs added to the spectacle as familiar chants at each other’s expense flew from one end of the stadium to the other.

Manchester United fans at Saturday night’s tournament.

Garcia, Aurelio, Thompson and Czech playmaker Patrick Berger helped Liverpool thump the hapless A-League 7-2 to advance to the final, before the Red Devils lost 3-2 to the Socceroos to miss a spot in the decider.

As a concept the event was an undoubted success as the fast-paced games and skill level of the ex-professionals kept the vocal crowd entertained.

Let’s hope it becomes an annual event.

Originally published as Liverpool, Manchester United, Socceroos and A-League greats meet in five-a-side tournament in Adelaide