Liverpool and Man City return to domestic football action next Thursday as the two teams go head-to-head in the Carabao Cup but there have been some interesting developments between the clubs ahead of the match.
According to the Daily Mail, officials from both clubs have held talks ahead of the cup tie in a bid to repair the toxic rivalry that has developed between the clubs over the last few seasons.
Man City and Liverpool have been the two best teams in the country of late and have been battling it out for all the titles the clubs compete in. The teams of Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp have given football fans some incredible games and although there is mutual respect between the two teams and managers, that has not translated over to the fans.
The behaviour of supporters from both clubs has been criticised in recent seasons, with Liverpool’s 1-0 victory in October marred by unseemly incidents.
Man City alleged that coins were thrown from the stands at manager Pep Guardiola, with Liverpool closing their investigation into that last month over a lack of evidence; whilst City fans mocked the Hillsborough disaster with chants and graffiti within Anfield.
The Daily Mail has reported that in a bid to fix this relationship between fans, senior executives from the two clubs, alongside safety and security staff, have met had of the side’s meeting at the Etihad Stadium on Thursday.
Fan groups were also in attendance at the meeting and it is believed to have been productive.
The respective chief executives, Ferran Soriano and Billy Hogan, will sign a joint letter that will go to season ticket holders and supporters in membership schemes before the fourth-round Carabao Cup clash appealing for calm; with the supporters groups also releasing a joint statement.
That joint statement said via the Daily Mail: ’Over the past five or six seasons, our matches have been some of the most entertaining in the world.
’However, we can’t ignore the recent poor behaviour from a small number of fans on both sides, which has often overshadowed the results and the quality of football on show.
‘That’s why we were pleased to sit down with both clubs to improve relations and make commitments to working together to improve fan behaviour at future matches.’
Maybe stop them wrecking coaches, throwing flares and coins at managers … just a thought
A city fan with a thought?
That’s a rare occurrence
I would have thought by now Pep is used to having money thrown at him.
Invisible coins that were not picked up by cameras or officials.
Keep the jokes coming pep.