Neville warns 'cheats' chant will spread across Premier League as City cloud deepens

Gary Neville has warned that chants of ‘cheats’ directed at Manchester City will spread to grounds across the Premier League, and that a ‘huge cloud’ will hang over the division for months to come — even as City defeated Liverpool 3-0 at Anfield.

City returned to action for the first time since being found guilty of more than 100 breaches of the Premier League’s financial rules over a nine-season period. As the game entered its final minutes, Liverpool supporters on the Kop chanted ‘cheats’ at the visitors, prompting Neville to remark during commentary: ‘That is brutal. The players out there are being called cheats. That’s one of the worst things you can be called. That one could catch on across the grounds and across the country until the punishment does come in.’

On the pitch, Ryan Gravenberch’s dismissal for two bookings just after the hour mark proved decisive. City scored three times in the final stages through Erling Haaland, Jeremy Doku, and Rayan Cherki to maintain their unbeaten start to the season.

Speaking after the final whistle, Neville acknowledged the difficulty of covering City in the current climate. ‘This is the first Manchester City game I’ve done since the guilty verdicts were handed out a few weeks ago,’ he said. ‘To come and win at Anfield is really difficult. We should be eulogising over them without a ‘but’ or any hesitation. But there is that thing in the back of your mind.’

Neville went further, raising the prospect of City’s league position being viewed very differently if the verdicts are confirmed on appeal. ‘You’re imagining if these guilty verdicts are confirmed in January, February, that Manchester City are not going to be in the position that they’re in, and there’s going to be a huge cloud hanging over the whole League. This is not good for the Premier League right now — this is really bad for the Premier League. And it’s going to continue for a few months.’

City deny any wrongdoing. Haaland, who opened the scoring, said after the match: ‘Every single person part of Man City, and every fan, this is a lovely moment that will stay with us for a long time. It was tough, it was hard, but we showed amazing character from back to front. So proud of everyone. It’s always tough to come here if you look at the record.’