Impervious City shrug off chaos and controversy to silence Anfield | Andy Hunter

Banners underlining the level of feeling among Liverpool fans towards Manchester City were dotted around Anfield. Photograph: Alex Pantling/Getty Images

Impervious Manchester City shrug off chaos and controversy to silence Anfield

What had been billed as a day of reckoning for the Premier League champions turned into a Sunday afternoon stroll

Anfield welcomed Manchester City to their new reality, a sullied place where every touch is accompanied by cries of “cheat”, any favourable decision is considered proof of further conspiracy and every victory hollow. But Welcome to Hell this was not. The only body of irrefutable evidence in City’s favour since the guilty verdicts landed is that Enzo Maresca’s league leaders appear immune to prosecution and persecution.

That may well change depending on the outcome of City’s appeal and any punishment that eventually arises, likewise the merits and value of a commanding 3-0 win on Liverpool soil. The sight of Erling Haaland savouring a statement victory in front of City’s supporters after the final whistle, while chants of “going down” echoed around the rest of the stadium, captured the schism at the heart of this Premier League season.

City were transformed by the introduction of Jérémy Doku and the dismissal of the Liverpool midfielder Ryan Gravenberch. They were never intimidated, always composed and 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.

It may be difficult, nigh on impossible, to sustain this level of motivation and desire knowing that relegation beckons. Knowing that no one outside City will give them credit for another title triumph did not affect them here, however.

In the 17 days since news of City’s guilt first emerged, and the gestation period of a prolonged international break, their return to action in a Premier League undermined and distorted by their 114 breaches had been built up as a chastening day of reckoning for Maresca’s side. It proved nothing of the sort.

Anfield can still make its voice heard to seismic effect and in the frantic start when Liverpool flew at City, with a fired-up Ronald Araújo whipping up the crowd after winning a challenge against Antoine Semenyo, the collective sense of injustice at a club pipped three times to the title by those in sky blue inspired Andoni Iraola’s players. But bear pits rarely feature in the corporate packaged world of Premier League entertainment 2026.

The “reception committee” for the City team coach before the game was populated by fans carrying selfie-sticks and club shop carrier bags, not an incensed brooding mob. At half-time the Kop was asked to cheer on corporate guests of the club sponsor Standard Chartered as they took part in a penalty shootout, many clearly kicking a ball for the first time in their lives.

There were incessant chants of “you cheating bastards” and various banners of damning judgement, many with an Oasis twist that may have been appreciated by Noel Gallagher in the away end. “And after all you really robbed us all” read one. “All of your stars are fading away,” read another. “A generation of supporters cheated,” cut to the heart of the issue confronting not only Liverpool but the Premier League itself.

Liverpool supporters point out that their side finished second to Manchester City three times in the space of eight years. Photograph: Peter Byrne/PA

The City support responded in kind. “In Khaldoon we trust – we’ve won it all!” proclaimed the away flags. The visitors, while performing the Poznan before kick-off, also reclaimed one of the “Cheat” flags that had been doing a healthy trade outside the ground before the game.

The inflatable bananas that were once part of the City fanscape also made a comeback, a throwback to more innocent days when their club was not in the dock for inflating sponsorship deals. There was more bickering than tangible animosity. The four men who walked on to the pitch carrying the Premier League hoardings before kick-off received a more hostile reception than City’s players when they appeared for the warm-up.

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The decision for City’s team coach to arrive by a different route ensured a tame reception for the visitors. All eyes were on the usual entrance on Anfield Road as City were ushered in from the opposite side of the stadium. It meant even the referees’ chief Howard Webb could walk in almost unnoticed.

The hostility cranked up as soon as the contest started and City, using their vast experience to telling effect, gradually drained the venom from the atmosphere and the threat from a depleted Liverpool team. But it was the 62nd-minute dismissal of Gravenberch that had the greater bearing on the outcome.

Doku proved a devastating substitute for Iliman Ndiaye and tormented Liverpool from the left, being involved not only in the red card but all three City goals. The hosts, minus their two most potent attacking players this season in Cody Gakpo and Alexander Isak, plus a hamstrung Dominik Szoboszlai, had no answer with Florian Wirtz and Bradley Barcola largely anonymous.

The Kop made no calls to be handed the trophies lost to City – and what would that really mean now anyway? – but took solace in demanding that punishment be served in the form of relegation this season. “No trophies for 50 years, que será, será,” the home crowd chanted. But there was no immediate retribution for Liverpool here. City dealt with the chaos and the controversy serenely.