City arrive at Anfield via back route as tensions run high
Manchester City's team bus rolled into Anfield via an alternative entrance on Sunday, avoiding the main crowd of Liverpool supporters gathered on Anfield Road. BBC journalist Dan Roan posted video footage on October 11, 2026, showing the coach using the Staff & Contractors' entrance. It was a detail that spoke volumes about the mood surrounding the fixture.
City are playing their first match since being found guilty of the vast majority of the 115 financial charges against them. The trip to Liverpool was always going to be loaded, but the guilty verdict has turned the temperature up several notches.
Liverpool, for their part, have reason to feel aggrieved. They finished a close second to City in two recent title races, and the sense of injustice on Merseyside is raw. Players like Alisson Becker and Virgil van Dijk missed out on major trophies that might have been theirs had City's spending been legitimate.
For City, the focus now is on the game itself. The team bus took the quiet route, but there will be no hiding place on the pitch.