Hostile Anfield awaits Manchester City after guilty verdict
Manchester City will face a hostile reception at Anfield on Sunday when they play Liverpool after being found guilty of breaching Premier League financial rules between 2009-10 and 2017-18, the club having launched an appeal against the independent commission's decision.
The rivalry between the clubs has been fractious for more than a decade, with Liverpool finishing second behind City in 2013/14, 2018/19 and 2021/22, the latter two campaigns separated by a single point, and tensions intensifying under Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp. Liverpool supporters have long felt they were denied titles by City's financial power, while City supporters point to the perceived brilliance of Guardiola's teams; Enzo Maresca, who has inherited Guardiola's legacy, arrives at Anfield insisting on the club's innocence and with an appeal running alongside any Premier League disciplinary process. City sit at the top of the table but the verdict has cast a shadow over the season as the Premier League determines punishment.
There is a widespread expectation of an unusually hostile atmosphere inside and around Anfield, with the Kop described as unlikely to wait for legal finalities or the outcome of an appeal: "There will be sound. There will be fury. There will be resentment." Commentary in the coverage has even raised the prospect that the entire Premier League season could be rendered meaningless depending on the scale of sanctions discussed, including talk of expulsion, relegation and record points deductions, though any resolution must await a likely lengthy legal process.
Maresca sought to keep the focus on the match at his pre-game media briefing and said: "The reason I joined this club is that I completely trust, 100%, the owner, the CEO, the sporting director, all the organisation. So I don't have doubt about that. "It will be a tough game, for sure. We need to be ready, the focus needs to be about the game, but we know the environment at Anfield. "It probably will be worse because of the situation but, again, it will be our duty to do our best and try to win the game. The reason I decide to become manager is for this type of game." He also placed the emphasis on "when" City win their appeal.
Manchester City maintain the commission's ruling contained "clear material errors, of law, principle and fact and is unsafe", while the commission used the word "sham" eight times when describing City's dealings and said revenue had been artificially inflated by more than £900m through "sham" deals. Those findings have produced debate over the legitimacy of results and tables while the appeals and disciplinary deliberations continue.
Former England striker Alan Shearer told BBC Radio 5 Live Sport: "I just think it's such a bad look that we're still having to wait for the consequences. "We've never seen anything like this. This is the biggest thing to happen to the Premier League since it started in 1992, that's how big it is. Credibility matters and you won't get anything different from any coach or player at Manchester City other than we're going to stick together and we believe in the club. "They're about to find out the anger from every club, starting at Anfield. "It needs sorting out now because they've spent a fortune in the summer. They've won every game and that could still be the case in two months, three months, four months. They could end up winning the league. That's why it needs sorting out now because it's such a bad look if it's allowed to fester. "The level of hostility will rise wherever they go. The ramifications are endless to this case. Where it goes after is something we don't know. It's huge. It really is massive."
Liverpool head coach Andoni Iraola said: "The worst thing probably is the uncertainty. No-one knows what's going to happen. We have to focus on Liverpool and being the best club we can be, the best team we can be. That's my challenge." Former Stoke City manager Tony Pulis, writing in his BBC Sport column, urged a siege mentality from City's squad and supporters, saying: "I loved being the underdog and I loved to prove people wrong, and that is what I would demand now - a siege mentality from my squad and supporters alike to prove to people that, irrespective of what is happening off the pitch, on the field and the terraces we respect our club and we are going to fight on." Merseyside Police said there would be an "appropriate" plan in place, a stance framed by memories of the April 2018 Champions League quarter-final when City's team bus was attacked with bottles and flares; Merseyside Police reviewed 130 hours of footage but were unable to identify those responsible and Liverpool were later fined £17,500 by Uefa.
This match is Manchester City's first league fixture since the commission's guilty verdict and will be played at Anfield on Sunday, presenting what the coverage describes as a severe test for Maresca and his players amid ongoing legal and disciplinary processes.
