Gary Neville saw something ‘devastating’ at Anfield on Sunday – Liverpool fans will agree

Gary Neville described one of the banners he saw at Anfield on Sunday as ‘devastating’ as Liverpool fans unreservedly vented their anger over the off-field crimes of which their opponents Manchester City have been found guilty.

For both teams, it was their first time in action since the Etihad Stadium outfit were deemed by an independent commission to have broken multiple Premier League financial rules pertaining to the period between 2009 and 2018.

The Merseyside natives brought numerous banners decrying those off-field misdemeanours and chanted ‘cheats‘ every time a Man City player touched the ball in the closing stages of the 3-0 defeat.

Neville left deflated by ‘devastating’ banner at Anfield

Speaking on his eponymous podcast after the match, Neville was left deflated by the inescapable reality of what the Manchester club have done, and how irrelevant their on-field results might be this season depending on whether a punishment in the form of points deductions or demotion is handed out over the next few months.

The Sky Sports pundit said: “There was a banner over in that far corner which I thought was devastating – ‘A generation of supporters have been cheated’. I thought, ‘You know, that will be the mood around the country, that for 10-15 years they’ve been cheated’.”

Neville added: “We know that Manchester City go three points clear at the top of the league but there’s a feeling that ultimately this is not going to be where Manchester City finish.

“It does feel different. There is a ‘but’, there is a sort of shadow hanging over it – there’s a dark cloud that you know has got a load of rain in it, and a massive storm, and you just don’t know when it’s going to burst but you know it’s coming.”

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Even rival clubs’ fans took Liverpool’s side yesterday

It was Liverpool who bore the brunt of the result on Sunday as they lost three more Premier League points, but it’s not just Reds supporters who were left feeling empty after the match yesterday.

There’s no love lost between Neville and LFC, that’s for sure, but his post-match comments highlighted just how aggrieved the Merseysiders – and indeed many other fanbases around the country – feel about Man City’s wrongdoing.

Even ardent Manchester United supporters like Mark Goldbridge sympathised with Andoni Iraola’s team on Sunday, and not just because of the incredibly harsh and game-changing dismissal of Ryan Gravenberch.

Liverpool losing 3-0 at home would usually be the catalyst for fans of rival clubs to unleash all sorts of schadenfreude, but the crimes committed by the Etihad hierarchy meant that their club were very much cast in the role of supervillain on Sunday.

This’ll be a surreal Premier League season as a whole until such time that Man City’s eventual punishment is administered, but the Reds will have to put that to the back of their minds and focus on returning to winning ways against LASK in the Champions League on Wednesday.