Cheat chants and prison-uniform flags greet Man City at a seething Anfield

Manchester City arrived at Anfield to one of the most hostile receptions a visiting side has faced in the Premier League era, with Liverpool supporters directing sustained cheat chants, banners and jeers at Enzo Maresca’s squad before a ball had been kicked.

The atmosphere began building long before kick-off. Goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma and his understudy Geronimo Rulli were booed loudly during the warm-up, and the unified chant of “You cheating bas*, you know what you are” rang around the ground as City’s players emerged. Songs about relegation followed in waves.

Outside the stadium, local vendors had capitalised on the mood. Stalls sold scarves, T-shirts and flags referencing City’s ongoing Premier League charges. One scarf read “Shamchester City — The Cheats”, while a large flag depicted Pep Guardiola, Erling Haaland and their teammates dressed in prison uniforms. Haaland, for his part, appeared unmoved during the warm-up.

City’s travelling supporters responded with banners of their own. The most prominent, unfurled in the away end, read: “In Khaldoon We Trust — We’ve Won It All” — a direct reference to City chairman Khaldoon Al-Mubarak, who is leading the club’s appeal against the charges and has publicly insisted evidence exists to prove their innocence.

The pre-match build-up also required a significant policing operation. City’s team bus took a deliberately obscured route into the ground, arriving via Arkles Lane in two coaches with blacked-out windows, flanked by police outriders, and pulling into a garage inside the Anfield Road Stand. Thousands of Liverpool supporters had gathered at the Anfield Road entrance expecting to confront the visiting coach, but the operation redirected it to the opposite side of the ground, limiting the reception to scattered jeers.

By the time Liverpool’s anthem “You’ll Never Walk Alone” filled the stadium, the psychological pressure on City was already considerable. Ruben Dias gathered his teammates in a huddle and barked out instructions as the noise reached its peak — a signal that what followed would test the visitors mentally as much as physically.