Anfield had been cast as a place of reckoning for Manchester City: a ground where every touch would draw cries of “cheat”, where any decision in the visitors’ favour would be read as further proof of a conspiracy, and where any victory would be written off as hollow. It did not turn out that way. Enzo Maresca’s league leaders left with a commanding 3-0 win, never intimidated, always composed, and apparently untroubled by the storm around them.
The backdrop was City’s guilt on 114 Premier League breaches, news of which had emerged 17 days earlier, with the club’s appeal and any eventual punishment still to be resolved. After an international break, their return to a Premier League undermined and distorted by those breaches had been built up as a chastening afternoon for Maresca’s side, one that would bring the champions back to earth. Instead, it became a Sunday afternoon stroll.
Anfield can still make itself heard, and it did during a frantic opening in which Liverpool flew at City, a fired-up Ronald Araújo whipping up the crowd after winning a challenge against Antoine Semenyo. Banners around the ground delivered damning verdicts, among them “And after all you really robbed us all”, “All of your stars are fading away” and “A generation of supporters cheated” — a line that cut to the heart of an issue confronting not only Liverpool but the Premier League itself, given that the club finished second to City three times in the space of eight years. Chants of “you cheating bastards” were incessant, and the Kop made clear it wanted punishment served in the form of relegation this season, along with a pointed “No trophies for 50 years, que será, será”.
The away end gave as good as it got. City’s travelling supporters performed the Poznan before kick-off, unfurled flags reading “In Khaldoon we trust – we’ve won it all!”, and reclaimed one of the “Cheat” flags that had been doing a healthy trade outside the ground. The inflatable bananas that were once part of the City fanscape also made a comeback, a throwback to more innocent days.
For all that, the confrontation amounted to more bickering than tangible animosity. City’s team coach arrived by a different route, ensuring a tame reception for the visitors, and referees’ chief Howard Webb was able to walk in almost unnoticed. The four men who carried the Premier League hoardings onto the pitch before kick-off received a more hostile reception than City’s players when they appeared for the warm-up. At half-time, the Kop was invited to cheer on corporate guests of club sponsor Standard Chartered in a penalty shootout, many of them clearly kicking a ball for the first time in their lives.
On the pitch, City used their vast experience to telling effect, gradually draining the venom from the atmosphere and the threat from a depleted Liverpool team. The decisive moment was the 62nd-minute dismissal of the Liverpool midfielder Ryan Gravenberch, but City were also transformed by the introduction of Jérémy Doku, who tormented the hosts from the left and was involved not only in the red card but in all three City goals. Liverpool, minus their two most potent attacking players this season in Cody Gakpo and Alexander Isak and with a hamstrung Dominik Szoboszlai also absent, had no answer, and Florian Wirtz and Bradley Barcola were largely anonymous.
After the final whistle, Erling Haaland savoured a statement victory in front of City’s supporters while chants of “going down” echoed around the rest of the stadium — a scene that captured the schism at the heart of this Premier League season. City look a genuine threat to Arsenal’s defence of the title, and yet this could prove their last Premier League appearance at Anfield for the foreseeable future, with relegation a possible consequence of the case against them. Whether the result retains its merits and value may depend on the outcome of City’s appeal and any punishment that eventually arises. For now, City dealt with the chaos and the controversy serenely.