David Fairclough marked his first league start of the season with the final goal in Liverpool's 3–0 win at Manchester United on Boxing Day 1978. Ray Kennedy and Jimmy Case had already scored before half-time; Fairclough's solo finish completed a victory that kept Liverpool at the top of the First Division.
Fairclough had struggled to find a place in Bob Paisley's league side. Looking back in an interview with LFChistory, he recalled waiting months while Liverpool's established forwards kept scoring. He had scored against Anderlecht in the European Super Cup a week before the Old Trafford match and retained his starting place.
Liverpool led after five minutes. Case crossed and an unmarked Kennedy headed over Gary Bailey. Case then scored himself in the 25th minute, following up after Bailey failed to hold Kenny Dalglish's shot. Gordon McQueen headed against the crossbar for United before the interval, but Liverpool went in two goals ahead.
Fairclough supplied the third in the 67th minute. He beat a succession of defenders before clipping his finish past Bailey, turning his opportunity in the starting eleven into a goal of his own. Liverpool had scored three times at a ground where they had failed to score on their previous five visits.
The result left Liverpool on 33 points from 21 matches, one ahead of Everton. It was their fifteenth league win of the season, with 47 goals scored and nine conceded. Fairclough's contribution came in an infrequent start, but the two points counted towards a sustained championship challenge.