Man City condemn ‘hateful chanting’ from their own fans during 4-1 win over Liverpool

Manchester City have issued a statement condemning offensive chanting from their supporters during their win over Liverpool on Saturday.

With the game level going into the interval, City fans could be heard singing ‘always the victim, it’s never your fault’ at Liverpool.

The chant has associations with the Hillsborough disaster of 1989 where 97 Liverpool fans were killed following a crush during a FA Cup semi-final at Hillsborough Stadium.

A statement said the club regrets any offence caused by the chanting and added that measures will be taken in an attempt to eliminate further incidents of hateful chanting occurring in the future.

‘Manchester City FC are disappointed to have heard inappropriate chants from home fans during today’s game,’ it read.

‘We regret any offence these chants may have caused and will continue to work with supporters groups and officials from both clubs to eradicate hateful chanting from this fixture.’

The Premier League offered a statement after the game, condemning the chants at the Etihad.

‘The Premier League condemns the chanting heard during today’s match between Manchester City and Liverpool,’ the statement read. ‘The League is treating the issue of tragedy chanting as a priority and as a matter of urgency.’

The club has also reported an ‘unacceptable’ incident that saw an object being thrown at and damaging the Liverpool coach.

‘Manchester City FC has been made aware that Liverpool FC’s coach sustained damage on its return journey following today’s game,’ they announced in a further statement.

‘We understand an object was thrown towards the coach in a residential area.

‘Incidents of this kind are totally unacceptable, and we strongly condemn the actions of the individual(s) responsible.

‘We will fully support Greater Manchester Police’s investigation into this incident in any way we can.’

Liverpool took the lead at the Etihad through Mo Salah with the Egypt international capitalising on a break from team-mate Diogo Jota to score his 23rd goal of the season in all competitions. 

City fans were heard singing offensive songs about Liverpool during their clash on Saturday

Pep Guardiola’s side ultimately triumphed 4-1 at the Etihad to keep their title bid alive

Though the first half saw frequent shifts of momentum between the two sides, visitors lead would ultimately last just ten minutes, with Julian Alvarez, replacing the injured Erling Haaland, netting to equalise for the hosts on 27 minutes.

Though the first half saw frequent shifts of momentum between the two sides, the reigning Premier League champions wrestled control of the game after the interval.

Kevin De Bruyne fired City ahead just one minute after the restart, before Ilkay Gundogan added a third for Pep Guardiola’s side.

Jack Grealish then capped off an exceptional individual performance with a goal to give City a 4-1 lead and secure a vital three points in their race to catch Arsenal at the top of the Premier League.