Anfield's verdict: City win, but the Kop delivers its own guilty verdict
Manchester City remain top of the table with six wins from six after their latest victory, but the dominant narrative at Anfield was not the result. The first match since an independent commission judged City broke Premier League rules between 2009 and 2018 saw the Kop chant "You haven't won a trophy since 1976" and boo the visitors.
- Venue: Anfield
- Competition: Premier League
- Headline result: Manchester City won, making it six wins from six to stay top of the table
- Key backdrop: First City game since an independent commission judged they broke Premier League rules between 2009 and 2018; City are appealing that verdict
- What's at stake: The points and the season's direction remain clouded by an unresolved appeal
The chant from the Kop began early. "You haven't won a trophy since 1976" was directed at City's League Cup triumph — the last major honour the club picked up before the ownership era now under scrutiny. Liverpool, three times runners-up to City in 2014, 2019 and 2022, were perfect but hostile hosts. The Anfield crowd served as a proxy for supporters everywhere, and the atmosphere was like no other.
City departed to boos and accusations of cheating. The enterprising flag and scarf sellers in Liverpool had prepared with unusual emphasis on the visitors. The banners in the ground referred to "a generation of supporters cheated" and offered a playful take on Wonderwall with the amended line that "you really robbed us all". Even the public-address system choices appeared pointed. Before kick-off at Anfield, the crowd heard Blame by Calvin Harris and The Joker and the Thief by Wolfmother. Upon the final whistle, it was Little Lies by Fleetwood Mac.
As expected, City's supporters opted for defiance. Boos for the Premier League anthem are nothing new but carried extra resonance here. A banner declaring 'In Khaldoon we trust' was an eye-opening indication of the devotion of some. Others shifted focus from the current predicament, with more than a hint of nostalgia. Poznan dances and inflatable bananas served as a symbol of that. The latter custom dates back to Imre Varadi — 'Imre Banana' to fans in the late '80s — a reminder that City were always really here. This remains a proud club. The message being sent is that the downs are part of their story just as much as the ups.
But the overriding emotions inside the stadium belonged to the majority, those wearing Liverpool red. City and these charges are part of Liverpool's story too. Anyone allowing the mind to wander at Anfield could not escape that history. Glance down to the spot on the turf where Steven Gerrard slipped to let in Demba Ba in 2014. Liverpool lost that game to Chelsea but lost that title to City. How can this ruling not change the tone and temperature of that regret? Sadness is now tinged with anger.
And so, for Liverpool, this is not only about City's trophies not being 'real' but those phantom triumphs of their own. A banner in the Sir Kenny Dalglish Stand read: "Until you've repaid the dreams you bought for your lies you'll be castaway alone under stormy skies." The game itself was a reminder that these matters are ongoing. The charges are historic but the consequences are part of the present.
A strange afternoon had a strange ending. The Kop chanted 'going down' while the league table shows that City are top. Gary Neville, on commentary, summed up the mood: "That is the backdrop to not knowing where these points and this season is going. There is going to be a 'but' all the way." Resolution can't come soon enough.
What was said
"You haven't won a trophy since 1976."
"Until you've repaid the dreams you bought for your lies you'll be castaway alone under stormy skies."
"That is the backdrop to not knowing where these points and this season is going. There is going to be a 'but' all the way."
The Kop's chant was a direct, bitter reference to City's history before the Abu Dhabi takeover. It framed the visitors' success as illegitimate, pointing to 1976 as the last time the club won a major trophy without the backing of the ownership now under investigation. The banners escalated that sentiment from terrace banter to a moral accusation: "a generation of supporters cheated" and "you really robbed us all". The public-address choices — Blame, The Joker and the Thief, and Little Lies — added a layer of theatrical spite that will not be forgotten quickly.
Neville's commentary captured the wider unease. He acknowledged that the charges are historic but the consequences are present, and that no result this season can be viewed in isolation. The phrase "there is going to be a 'but' all the way" is likely to be quoted for months. It is the perfect description of a campaign in which every City victory will be accompanied by a caveat, and every dropped point will invite fresh accusations.
The numbers
- 6 from 6: Manchester City's win record this season, keeping them top of the table
- 3: Liverpool's runner-up finishes to City in 2014, 2019 and 2022
- 1976: The year of City's last major honour prior to the current ownership period, according to the Kop's chant
- 2009–2018: The period during which an independent commission judged City broke Premier League rules
- 1: Points deduction? No — the league table shows City top despite the verdict
Why the Anfield atmosphere matters more than the result
The most revealing aspect of this match was not the scoreline but the collision of two fanbases processing the same verdict in opposite ways. Manchester City supporters responded with defiance — booing the Premier League anthem, unfurling a banner declaring 'In Khaldoon we trust', and revisiting the Poznan and inflatable bananas of the late '80s. That nostalgia is not accidental. It is a deliberate attempt to reclaim an identity that predates the charges, to say: we were here before the money and we will be here after the lawyers finish. Whether that argument holds is beside the point; it is the emotional shield the away end has chosen.
For Liverpool, the day was about grievance. The Kop's chant about 1976 was a direct attack on the legitimacy of City's modern trophies, while the banners went further, accusing the club of cheating a generation. The choice of Blame and Little Lies over the public-address system felt like a deliberate curatorial decision, turning a football match into a morality play. Steven Gerrard's slip in 2014, when Demba Ba scored for Chelsea, was invoked not as a random memory but as the precise moment Liverpool's title was lost to a club now under investigation. That is why the sadness has turned to anger: the past is no longer just painful, it is contested.
On the pitch, City did what they have done all season — won. But the atmosphere ensured that the victory will be remembered for what happened around it. The Kop chanted 'going down' while the table showed City top. That contradiction is the story of the season. Until the appeal is resolved, every result will be filtered through the same lens. The players can only control the football; the verdict will control the narrative.
Talking points
- Should City fans' defiant Poznan and 'In Khaldoon we trust' banner be read as loyalty or as wilful blindness to a commission's findings?
- Was Liverpool's public-address playlist — Blame, Little Lies — clever theatre or a step too far for a club hosting a rival?
- If City's titles are eventually voided, does that make Liverpool's 2014, 2019 and 2022 near-misses into moral victories, or just different kinds of pain?
- Gary Neville says there will be a 'but' all the way — is he right that this season cannot be judged normally until the appeal ends?
What happens next
Manchester City remain top of the table with six wins from six, but their appeal against the independent commission's verdict is ongoing. The next fixture will be played under the same cloud, with rival fans likely to replicate the Anfield atmosphere. Liverpool, meanwhile, must manage a squad and a support base whose sense of injustice is now a permanent feature of their season. The league table will keep updating, but the real resolution — the appeal — is the only result that will truly change the mood.
Frequently asked questions
Did Manchester City win at Anfield?
Yes. City won the match, making it six wins from six and keeping them top of the Premier League table.
What did the Kop chant at Anfield?
The Kop chanted "You haven't won a trophy since 1976" in reference to City's League Cup triumph, and later chanted 'going down' despite City being top of the table.
Why were City booed at Anfield?
City were booed and accused of cheating because this was their first game since an independent commission judged that they broke Premier League rules between 2009 and 2018. City are appealing that verdict.
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