Liverpool issues apology to City for damage to team bus
Fireworks, flares and bottles were pelted at the bus as it arrived at Anfield.
Last updated 5th Apr 2018
The first leg of City's Champions League quarter final got off to a bad start after the team bus had its windows smashed.
Thousands of fans were lining the streets on the approach to Anfield as the coach made its way towards the stadium.
Flares, fireworks and bottles were thrown towards the bus causing so much damage that City had no choice but to call for another vehicle to transport them home.
No players or staff were hurt but two police officers were injured. City coach, Manel Estiarte, has posted footage of the incident on Instagram...
Liverpool quickly issued a statement condemning the behaviour and apologising unreservedly and will now investigate the incident: "The club condemns in the strongest possible terms the scenes which preceded our Champions League quarter-final, which resulted in damage being inflicted on the Manchester City team bus during their arrival at Anfield.
"We apologise unreservedly to Pep Guardiola, his players, staff and officials caught up in the incident.
"The behaviour of a number of individuals was completely unacceptable and the club will co-operate fully with the authorities to identify those responsible.
"The priority now is to establish the facts and offer Manchester City whatever support is necessary."
It wasn't the only upset of the night, with Liverpool going on to win 3-nil but both Jurgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola agree that the clash is far from over.
Merseyside Police Match Commander Superintendent Paul White said: "Thankfully no-one on the bus was injured, but injuries were caused to two of our officers when projectiles were thrown towards the bus. The officers and stewards are there to protect the public and keep them safe.
"This behaviour by a number of people who threw bottles, cans and pyrotechnics towards the bus is completely unacceptable and we will conduct enquiries to identify who was responsible and bring them to justice.
"We worked very closely with both clubs to ensure the safety of the public and the teams themselves, and it is disappointing to see that a number of people behaved in this appalling way."
As for the match itself; A scintillating opening 45 minutes saw the visitors blown away with goals from Mohamed Salah, his 38th of the season, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Sadio Mane.
Unbelievably for City, who've scored 124 times this season - Guardiola's side failed to register a shot on target leaving them an uphill task at the Etihad Stadium next Tuesday.
But Guardiola remains optimistic his side can turn things around on home soil.
"In this room I think there is nobody except the guy talking to you (Guardiola himself) who believes we can go through. There are 90 minutes more, we are going to try,'' said the City boss.
"in football it can happen. We have 90 minutes more in our stadium, with our people, with our families.
"The result is tough but I don't have the feeling we played to concede that result. But in this competition the boxes make the difference and they were so good in those situations.''
Commenting on the damage to the team bus before the match, Guardiola added: "The bus is destroyed. I didn't expect that a club as prestigious as Liverpool would do these kind of things. Of course, it is not Liverpool, it is the people - but hopefully it doesn't happen again."