An aerial view shows The Etihad Stadium, the home ground of Manchester City football club, in Manchester. Photo: AFP
MANCHESTER:
Manchester City will face the full fury of Anfield on Sunday when the Premier League leaders confront old rivals Liverpool in their first game since being found guilty of breaking financial rules.
City can expect a hostile reception from Liverpool fans after an independent commission found they arranged “sham” deals to artificially inflate revenues and reduce costs by more than £900 million ($1.2 billion) between 2009 and 2018.
The financial breaches occurred during a period in which City won three Premier League titles and numerous other trophies, with Liverpool struggling to break the Etihad Stadium outfit’s silverware monopoly.
City have appealed against the devastating verdict and manager Enzo Maresca was bullish on Friday that they will overturn the original ruling.
But the Premier League season is now stuck in stasis awaiting a ruling on the appeal and any potential sanction.
“I think the worst thing probably is the uncertainty, that no one knows what’s going to happen,” Liverpool boss Andoni Iraola said on Friday.
A severe points penalty leading to relegation or even expulsion from the English top flight are on the table, while there is also speculation City could be stripped of titles.
“I think they have to be stripped of the titles. Otherwise you send the wrong message to anyone in the future,” John Gibbons of Liverpool podcast The Anfield Wrap told AFP.
“There can’t be any trust now, certainly not if there’s not an admission of guilt. For me, I don’t see how Manchester City continue in the league.”
Over the past 12 years, Liverpool have finished second to City on three occasions.
Only one of those in 2013/14 came during the period under scrutiny.
But City’s rivals believe the wrongdoing in that period built the foundations for a golden era under former boss Pep Guardiola, who stepped down at the end of last season.
‘Not playing by same rules’
Twice Jurgen Klopp’s Reds missed out on the title despite amassing over 90 points.
Those title battles turned meetings between City and Liverpool into English football’s marquee event and the eyes of the world will be on Anfield again come Sunday.
“It just shows how remarkable that team that Jurgen Klopp built was and what they were up against,” added Gibbons.
“They were obviously going against another side who it has been shown weren’t playing by the same rules as everyone else.”
Even in happier times, City have rarely enjoyed their trips to Anfield.
Last season’s 2-1 victory was City’s first win there in front of a crowd since 2003, with their other win coming amid Covid-19 restrictions in 2021.
City return to Anfield sitting top of the Premier League after a flawless start to Maresca’s reign, featuring seven successive wins in all competitions.
Just months after the charges against the club were first announced in February 2023, City went on to win the treble, clinching the club’s first Champions League crown, as well as the Premier League and FA Cup.
The question is whether Maresca’s men can tap into that siege mentality once more, rather than wilting under the intense scrutiny.
Liverpool supporters have often created a febrile atmosphere for City’s visits since they emerged as title contenders following the takeover by their Abu Dhabi-based owners in 2008.
This weekend’s showdown is likely to set a new standard for vitriol directed at City’s players and fans.
“It’s going to be massively hostile,” said Dom Farrell, author of the book “Glory Days for the Waifs and Strays” that chronicled City’s rise from the third tier to European champions.
“If they were to win against Liverpool and then beat an off-form Paris Saint-Germain you really get a siege mentality going.
“But there’s also a decent chance they get turned over and then it just starts to feel you’re in this sort of dead zone waiting for the verdict.”
