Manchester City met at Anfield with boos and 'cheat' taunts

LIVERPOOL, England, Oct 11 : Premier League leaders Manchester City came to Liverpool's Anfield stadium on Sunday to find the fallout from their financial rules verdict waiting at the gates.

It was their first game since being found guilty of 114 breaches of the league's financial rules, and Liverpool supporters had prepared a blunt welcome. 

Fans drowned out the announcement of City's team with earsplitting boos and chants of "Going down, going down!" in reference to a possible relegation sanction.

City deny the charges and are appealing.

In a raucous atmosphere among some 60,000 supporters at Anfield, one banner read: "A Generation Of Supporters Cheated" while some fans held three balloons making the number 114.

Another two banners referenced Oasis songs, since the band's Liam and Noel Gallagher are devoted City fans.

"All of your stars are fading away," read one, changing a line from the song "Stop Crying Your Heart Out," while another said "& after all, you really robbed us all," a parody of the song "Wonderwall."

Liverpool fans are particularly angry as they were narrowly pipped to the Premier League title three times by Manchester City during the period in which they were deemed to have broken financial rules.

"If they only get, say, a demotion to the Championship, and they can come back in one season, that's not enough. It should be more," said lifelong Liverpool fan David Matthias.

"And as far as the titles they've won, I'd be quite happy to see them stripped of everything."

BANANAS BACK

Travelling City fans, meanwhile, held aloft inflatable bananas, a humorous tradition dating from their time out of the top flight in the 1980s.

And they had the last laugh on the day, celebrating wildly after their team won 3-0 to subdue the