A sea of red was awaiting the arrival of both teams at Anfield on Sunday, but Liverpool fans were denied their grand welcoming by misdirection and trickery.
The significance of Man City‘s visit in the context of the title race not lost on anyone, with the opportunity to create a valuable buffer to Pep Guardiola’s side on the line.
As is tradition ahead of games of this nature, Liverpool fans lined Anfield Road armed with pyro and their voices, but, in the end, they would not be able to greet the team bus.
- Fans congregate along Anfield Road
- Man City bus redirected – arrived behind new stand
- Liverpool bus arrives via Walton Breck Road (next to club shop)
- Fans left in pouring rain to discover bus wasn’t coming their way
Jurgen Klopp‘s side deviated from their usual entrance by coming in via Walton Breck Road, alongside the club shop, and entering the ground via the Main Stand.
It is a move we have seen before, but from away teams – for example, Real Madrid did the same last season to avoid the suffocating welcome on Anfield Road.
Liverpool fans lined the route for the team bus to arrive but it came in the other way… #LIVMCI #LFC pic.twitter.com/IxQjjqE7WY
— Chris Chambers (@Chris_Chambo_) March 10, 2024
Typically, when armed with the knowledge of a bus welcome, like the final day against Wolves in 2022, the police set up barriers along Anfield Road, that they hadn’t this time was a clue that the team bus would not be travelling that direction.
And amid all of this, if you were wondering where City’s bus was, it snuck in under everyone’s noses around the other side of the new Anfield Road Stand.
It was an act of trickery and misdirection from the Merseyside police, who denied Liverpool fans their fun – there were even suggestions City’s players were driven straight between the massed Liverpool fans inside Mercedes people carriers.
most hostile ground in Europe my arse pic.twitter.com/yTtkopTsuV
— Lucas T (@luc4sthompson) March 10, 2024
The sight would have been an incredible one had Liverpool’s bus been able to travel along its normal route, instead fans were left to just discover on their own that the bus arrived elsewhere after waiting in the pouring rain.
This was an instruction from the police, as you can bet Klopp and his side would have wanted to be greeted by their fans ahead of their biggest game of the season.
All these changes come from the police, who were highly cautious over everything pertaining to the fixture having requested the earlier 3.45pm kickoff in place of the usual 4.30pm start.
The penalty at the death wasn’t all that was robbed from Liverpool fans on Sunday…
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