Manchester City avoided a hostile reception outside Anfield on Sunday afternoon by cunningly arriving to the ground via another entrance before being taunted by banners and chants inside the ground.
Swarms of Reds supporters were waiting to give Enzo Maresca’s side a frosty greeting with the visitors playing for the first time since the Premier League’s bombshell guilty verdict.
Liverpool supporters turned up in their droves with several red flares at the ready and multiple ‘cheats’ banners to try and intimidate their bitter rivals ahead of kick-off.
However, their hopes were extinguished as City came down another road, accompanied by a police escort.
Inside the ground it was a different story. The City players were booed onto the pitch and there were dozens of banners reminding the visitors of their cheating shame.
One read: ‘Steven Gerrard, Premier League champion 2014.’ Plenty quoted huge Man City fans Oasis, with song title ‘All of your stars are fading away’ seen held up in the Kop.
Noel Gallagher, incidentally, was pictured walking into Anfield accompanied by security guards.
Man City’s bus avoided a hostile reception from Liverpool fans after arriving via a different way
Noel Gallagher is seen arriving at Anfield escorted by security on Sunday afternoon
There were 114 pound signs on the word ‘cheat’ on a banner along the bottom of the Kop
Plenty of Liverpool fans brought banners into the stadium after City’s guilty charges
One of the bigger banners inside the ground referenced another Oasis song
A huge banner was unfurled in the middle of the Kop with exactly 114 pound signs in the word ‘cheats’, another said: ‘After all you really robbed us all’, referencing ‘Wonderwall’.
One more read: ‘A generation of supporters cheated’, and some fans held up balloons reading ‘114’ referencing the number of charges the independent commission found City guilty of.
Chants of ‘cheats’ and ‘you’re going down’ echoed around the ground in the early exchanges, while City were loudly booed and whistled with every touch of the ball.
City fans, meanwhile, brought in inflatable bananas, a practice not seen for a while by the club, who first did so in 1987 when a fan tried to lift the gloom by bringing a giant one to a game against Plymouth Argyle.
It then became commonplace among City supporters and they even brought 10,000 of them to a game at one point in 1988.
Bringing them to Anfield was seen as a self-deprecating way to poke fun at their own history, given they could return to the depths of English football if their appeal fails.
City were found guilty of all serious financial rule breaches levelled against them between 2009 and 2018, a period where they saw off Liverpool to win the Premier League title in 2014-15.
The seismic findings have sent shockwaves through the football world, with potential punishments ranging from expulsion from the top flight, to points deductions and financial penalties. City have indicated their intention to appeal the verdict.
And Maresca has insisted it remains business as usual at the Etihad and he has ‘complete trust’ in the Abu Dhabi ownership group, while Erling Haaland called on his team-mates to ‘enjoy the ride’.
City fans brought inflatable bananas to Anfield in reference to their past
Plenty of supporters made a play on words of Oasis songs, including this offering
Inflatable ‘114’ signs were brought into the ground in reference to the number of guilty charges
The Kop was adorned by banners created especially for this much-anticipated game
‘I completely trust the club,’ Maresca said on Friday. ‘I trust the people and it’s one of the reasons I joined the club. There isn’t another club in the world where I would like to be.’
Asked if he would have accepted the job had he known what would transpire in the bitter case with the Premier League, Maresca added: ‘One hundred per cent. I know the organisation from years ago.
‘I know how serious they are and they do the right things. I want to speak about this when we win the appeal.’
