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Liverpool vs. Man City: Everything That Happened Off the Pitch in Gripping Psychodrama

There were creative banners from Liverpool and clear signs of defiance from Manchester City in a game where the soccer was a distraction.
Grey Whitebloom|
Manchester City fans were defiant in the face of fierce opposition.
Manchester City fans were defiant in the face of fierce opposition. | Peter Byrne/PA Images/Getty Images

Manchester City’s trip to Liverpool on Sunday could never be about the on-pitch action.

As soon as the Premier League dropped its explosive statement revealing how an independent commission had found City guilty of concocting “sham contracts,” “sham agreements” and “sham commercial deals” over nine seasons during the international break, the club’s next away game was always going to be hostile.

The fact their hosts would be Liverpool, a team with a fearsome and vocal fanbase enraged as direct victims of City’s “disguised funding scheme,” cranked up the anticipation of the occasion even more.

City would reestablish a three-point lead at the Premier League summit, Ryan Gravenberch skirted between hero and villain while Rayan Cherki delivered a contender for the most impish goal of the season. But plenty of focus was rightly directed away from the rectangle of green.

Buildup to the Game

Circumstance meant that Merseyside on a sunny Sunday afternoon was never going to be mistaken for the seventh circle of hell, but Liverpool’s fans made sure there was the smell of sulfur in a red sky pregame.

Manchester City have had their run-ins with Liverpool’s fanbase on previous occasions. Bottles, cans and fireworks were infamously aimed at the club’s team bus ahead of a Champions League tie in 2018.

In order to avoid a repeat—or an escalation—of those scenes, City’s coach was steered to a second Anfield entrance away from the largest concentration of Liverpool fans.

City’s supporters weren’t kept quite as far away from their red counterparts, with some jostling and an exchange of jibes (rather than jabs) as police managed to contain the animosity.

The fans who were not distracted by the prospect of a fight had the chance to mark this memorable occasion with a souvenir. The streets leading up to the stadium were lined with stalls teeming with pieces of memorabilia at City’s expense.

Liverpool fans trying to cash in.
Some Liverpool fans were trying to cash in. | Simon Stacpoole/Offside/Getty Images

There was an Oasis flavor to a lot of the apparel, given the band’s famous support of City. Some of the visiting fans were inclined to make a few purchases of their own.

Liverpool’s Wall of Protest

If there had been any doubt about the position of Liverpool’s supporters in regards to Manchester City’s guilt, they let it be known on Sunday. While most Premier League managers danced around the topic, Anfield was awash with flags and banners that spelled out the fans’ indignation in giant letters.

Liverpool banner.
Liverpool had come prepared. | Peter Byrne/PA Images/Getty Images
Banner of Man City’s owner.
Man City’s owner come under fire. | Simon Stacpoole/Offside/Getty Images

Considering the limited goal threat from both sides across a scrappy opening 45 minutes, there was more creativity in the stands than on the pitch.

Liverpool fans hold up a large banner.
Liverpool fans got creative. | Peter Byrne/PA Images/Getty Images
Liverpool fans hold up banners.
There was more creativity in the stands than on the pitch. | Simon Stacpoole/Offside/Getty Images

Man City Defiance

Ferran Soriano facing the music.
Ferran Soriano faced the music. | Michael Regan/Getty Images

City have taken a front-foot approach throughout these proceedings. The club still vehemently insist their innocence and chief executive Ferran Soriano was in the Anfield stands as a show of defiance.

Those above Soriano in City’s hierarchy didn’t brave the wall of noise, although chants and masks of the club’s owner Sheikh Mansour were prevalent on Merseyside.

The away end was awash with inflatable bananas, the traditional show of retaliation which City fans have used since the 1980s. The theory goes that this started when the club used to have a striker called Imre Varadi who was serenaded with a curious chant of “Imre Banana.”

For all their recent history of (tainted) success, City have a far longer reputation for suffering. As Oasis’ Noel Gallagher, who was in the away end, once said: “That’s being a City fan, getting used to that feeling: losing.” In response to the loss of a court case which could outstrip any defeat they have previously faced on the field, City fans may have to lean upon that famous gallows humor.

‘Cheats’

The game had long since been lost but Liverpool’s fans didn’t lose their voice. In one last act of defiance to drown out the olé’s coming from the away end, Anfield united in a burst of “cheat” every time City completed a pass in the closing stages.

Former Manchester United defender Gary Neville warned that this could be a jibe which “caught on” across the coming weeks as City are cast as the enemy of every Premier League club.

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Grey Whitebloom
GREY WHITEBLOOM

Grey Whitebloom is an Associate Editor for SI FC. He has more than half a decade of experience in sports media across all its various guises, from the fast-paced demands of news articles and match reports to in-depth research required for features. Whitebloom graduated with a First Class Honours from University College London and found himself named on the Dean’s List—which, despite his initial fears, was a form of praise rather than a punishment. He specialises in the Premier League and Champions League, while also boasting an extensive track record of La Liga coverage.

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