Fans from one of Manchester United’s fiercest rivals paid a touching tribute to Cristiano Ronald after the death of his baby son

• Cristiano Ronaldo missed Manchester United's game against Liverpool on Tuesday.
• It came a day after he announced the death of his newborn son.

Fans across one of soccer's fiercest rivalries put their differences aside to pay tribute to Manchester United star Cristiano Ronaldo after the death of his baby son over the weekend.

In a Monday Instagram post, Ronaldo revealed that his son had died soon after his partner Georgina Rodriguez had given birth to twins, a boy and a girl.

The post described their son's death as "the greatest pain that any parents can feel."

After the announcement, Ronaldo missed Manchester United's Tuesday evening game against arch rivals Liverpool, traditionally one of the biggest grudge matches in all of English soccer.

There is substantial bad blood between the two sides, which are separated by just 30 miles, though in recent years Liverpool has dominated the rivalry as Manchester United struggle to regain the elite status they held for almost two decades under Sir Alex Ferguson.

But on Tuesday night, fans of the two clubs put their differences aside to offer their condolences to Ronaldo and Rodriguez after their bereavement.

As the game — which was being played at Liverpool's home stadium, Anfield — reached its seventh minute, fans from both sides began to loudly applaud, choosing the moment as a reflection of Ronaldo's number 7 shirt.

As applause rang out around the ground, Liverpool fans began to sing the club's signature song "You'll never walk alone," a further tribute to Ronaldo. Some held up shirts bearing Ronaldo's name.

You can see footage of the tribute below:

While Ronaldo has not publicly commented on the tribute, his sister Elma reposted an Instagram story from a Ronaldo fan account which included the words: "Thank you for this Liverpool. We will never forget what you did today."

Ronaldo's other sister Katia also reposted footage of the tribute on Instagram, including the caption: "Way beyond football."

Liverpool ran out 4-0 winners in the game on the night, taking Jurgen Klopp's side to the top of the Premier League table, two points clear of title rivals Manchester City with just a handful of games to go in the season.

City can return to the top of the table with a win over Brighton and Hove Albion Wednesday night.