The Liverpool-Manchester City have become something like the new classic of English football. Since the arrival of Pep Guardiola and Jurguen Klopp, every duel between the most dominant teams in English football has become a battle with more than three points at stake.
The game this past Sunday had everything. Liverpool won, who needed it most, and Klopp was sent off. But there was plenty of controversy, such as when the City bench vigorously celebrated a Phil Foden goal disallowed after a VAR review.
Guardiola was furious at the decision, even before referee Anthony Taylor had finished looking at the pitch-side monitor, and turned to face the Liverpool fans in the stands.
The City manager later said that Liverpool supporters had retaliated by throwing coins at him from the stands. "Next time they will do better, they didn't hit me," Guardiola said. "They tried, but they didn't catch me. They got it on the coach years ago, but not this time."
"This is Anfield," Guardiola added. "The referee talked to my assistant and Juergen before the game and said 'Today I won't call fouls' and the whole game was play, play, play, except for the goal we scored. We lost because we made a mistake and we played against one of the best teams in the game. world. It's very tight and the margins are very good.
Klopp was sent to the locker room after being unhappy with the referees following a tackle by Bernardo Silva on Mohamed Salah. Nonetheless, he was delighted to get a result that can boost his team's season. "The red card is my fault, I overdid it at the time," Klopp said. "That's not cool, but as a little excuse I'd like to mention how can you not call that for a foul?"
Liverpool later issued a statement condemning some chants by City supporters during the match. "We are deeply disappointed to hear vile chanting related to the away section football stadium tragedies during today's match at Anfield. The concourse in the away section was also vandalized with graffiti of a similar nature," they said.
“We know the impact such behavior has on families, survivors and all those associated with these types of disasters. We are working with the relevant authorities and will also work with Manchester City to do everything we can to ensure these chants are eradicated from the public eye. football completely", they concluded.
