Liverpool vs. City: a rivalry for the ages now clouded by 114 financial charges

There's one image that sums up this rivalry better than any stat line: the ball stopped 11.7 millimeters from the goal line, with John Stones sprawled on the Etihad turf after clearing a Sadio Mane shot off the line in January 2019. That moment ended up deciding a title Manchester City won by a single point. Years later, that same rivalry is back under the microscope, only this time it's not about what happened on the field.

Back in April 2022, Jamie Carragher stirred things up when he wrote in The Telegraph that the Liverpool-City battle was "the biggest, most intense and highest quality" rivalry in English football history. For the former Reds defender, there was no question about it: "the two best teams in England were the two best teams in the world, led by the two greatest managers of their generation." Plenty of traditionalists pushed back right away, defending the legacy of Alex Ferguson's United against Arsene Wenger's Arsenal. But Carragher's own numbers back up his argument: between 2018 and 2022, out of 456 possible Premier League points, City picked up 358 and Liverpool 357.

The trouble is that this epic now carries a stain that's hard to look past. An independent commission found City guilty of 114 breaches of Premier League financial rules. The club denies everything and has already appealed the ruling, but the question lingers: is this still the perfect rivalry that was sold to fans for a decade, or was it, in the blunt words of the Premier League's own statement, a sham?

Mutual respect, even as the doubts linger

Jurgen Klopp, now in charge of the German national team, didn't dodge the subject when asked about it at a recent press conference.

I have a lot of respect for Pep Guardiola and the way City played. They played fantastic football and were a top-level opponent for us. If sanctions get applied, that has nothing to do with me, I'll just wait and see. I'm nowhere near preparing anything related to a title. I'm completely at peace with what we achieved at Liverpool.Jurgen Klopp

It's a far cry from the tone he struck, half joking, when he said goodbye to Anfield in May 2024: "if they organize a bus parade, count me in!" he told the crowd when someone brought up the then 115 charges against City. But jokes aside, Klopp always gave Guardiola his due, calling him in 2019 "the best manager I've ever gone up against." And the Catalan returned the compliment in 2022: "Liverpool and us helped raise the bar, for sure. When we hit 100 points and then 98, and they hit 99, both teams were telling everyone else: this is the level of the competition."

Andy Robertson, now at Tottenham after leaving Liverpool this past summer, put it simply: "I don't think the players are ever to blame for these things." And Bernardo Silva, who wrapped up nine years at City last season, didn't hold back in an interview with The Athletic, calling Liverpool "our main rival, by far" during his time in Manchester.

That's where the uncomfortable question comes in: if City artificially inflated their revenue by more than 900 million pounds between 2009 and 2018, as alleged, would they have been able to sign Silva for 43 million pounds from Monaco? Would they have been in a position to convince Guardiola to join in 2016? It's purely speculative, but logic suggests the Premier League map would look different today.

On the pitch, Klopp and Guardiola faced off 30 times between Germany and England, with 12 wins for the German and 11 for the Spaniard. In terms of trophies, Guardiola leads with 20 major titles at City, compared to Klopp's 8 at Liverpool.

Pride and anger heading into Anfield

Not everyone in the Anfield stands shares their former manager's understanding view. Visiting fans still remember Steven Gerrard's slip against Chelsea in 2014, which cost Brendan Rodgers' side the title, edged out by just two points by Manuel Pellegrini's City. With Klopp already in charge, Liverpool went through the same agony twice on the final day of the season, hoping for a rival slip-up, and both times finished just a single point short.

Neil Atkinson, of The Anfield Wrap, put it into words on September 30: "we got to watch the best Liverpool team in history. We had a blast, and I'm surprised that, years later, I'm prouder than ever of Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool."

That's the mix arriving at Anfield this Sunday: anger and uncertainty over the finances, but also genuine pride in what was built on the field. Andoni Iraola will have to channel all of that while trying to slow down Enzo Maresca's perfect start as City manager in the Premier League. The result of the match, in some ways, feels almost secondary next to everything being debated off the field. But one thing is certain: the entire football world will have its eyes on Anfield.