Supporters filled the streets of Anfield in anticipation of the arrival of the Manchester City team bus, with pyrotechnics and sheer vitriol adding to the tense pre-match atmosphere. Every vantage point was taken, with spectators standing on the walls to get a glimpse of the enemy, but the coach snuck in from the opposite side of the field to avoid confrontation.
The subterfuge defused a volatile situation that could have become incendiary. Tensions were high on Merseyside. Since City’s takeover in 2008, Liverpool have finished second to their rivals three times, although only one of those falls within the scope of the investigation into City’s financial breaches of Premier League rules. Liverpool fans are unhappy, believing they would have won more trophies if City had not bent the rules to help sign elite players.
Liverpool were punished in 2018 after fans threw missiles at the team bus as City players were being driven to Anfield for a Champions League clash. The animosity was only reinforced by the guilty verdict handed down by the independent commission.
References to the verdict were not difficult to find at the outdoor stands. For £15 – haggling brought it down to £10 – it was possible to buy a ‘Guilty 114’ flag, featuring an AI image of the City team in prison uniform or a ‘Cheats’ banner in the style of the Oasis logo.
Many supporters, however, settled for the traditional – and much maligned – half-and-half scarf to commemorate such an occasion. Fashion lovers could opt for T-shirts with a similar pattern. There were more frugal offerings, with homemade banners bearing the direct message parading across the ground.
There was a feeling of injustice and thousands of people wanted to express it. A lone City fan, dressed in sky blue, stood in the middle of the sea of red. He was not bothered by the commotion around him but was left alone because he was not at fault.
Discussions on social media suggested the city deserved a “bus welcome” on Anfield Road and that police were prepared for such an eventuality. There was toxicity and hostility on both sides in the build-up, with away fans chanting their anthem “City goes down with a billion in the bank” while waving inflatable bananas, the latter tradition dating back to the 1980s. It is a reminder that City had existed for 114 years before Sheikh Mansour’s investment and will continue to exist regardless of how potential sanctions evolve. Many saw City fall to third and win the Champions League, and so have already experienced both ends of the spectrum.
Police flew a drone over the route the city bus planned to take, while officers walked up and down filming those present as the decibels and anger grew.
Each vehicle was treated with suspicion as City’s theories of subterfuge were discussed, which was not the first time. The prospect of locking the players and staff into the ground caused a lot of discussion in the crowd, but there was no Trojan horse. Instead, the official team bus, complete with full livery, passed across Anfield Road and around the back of the stand which bears its name.
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The Liverpool bus arrived to cheers, chants and lots of red smoke just before 3 p.m. Eyes stinged as the wind blew. The police presence moved closer to the scheduled arrival time on the bus.
Around an hour before kick-off, after the City manager had been knocked to the ground with his motorcade of police, the visiting fans were given their own escort through Stanley Park. The message was one of defiance, supporting President Khaldoon al-Mubarak with verses of “We are Man City, we will cheat when we want to”. There was a slight ruckus from the home fans within earshot but, as with the bus, it passed without incident. The cheers and jeers continued as traveling fans waited to enter the field, but it was nothing out of the ordinary for a soccer match between two rivals. Calm had returned.
As City took to the pitch for their warm-up, they were loudly booed by the majority inside the pitch, with every player’s name mentioned over the PA system receiving the same treatment. City found comfort in the bunch of bananas bouncing around outside in a small corner before football finally took center stage.
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