Time for City to end Anfield hoodoo
THE power of Anfield is a phrase I’ve heard used a lot in recent years, particularly after Liverpool have recorded a momentous win.
I know it’s a term that winds up opposition fans, who dismiss it as spin. But I also know from experience there is some truth behind it, because the stadium is like no other in the country. It has the ability to get into your head.
The first time I played there, in November 2006, I remember looking up at The Kop and feeling as if my own power was being zapped.
It is ridiculously intimidating when it’s full. The fans are incredible, their backing is relentless, and that means Liverpool never play with anything other than heart and soul.
Steven Gerrard scored the winner that day in a 1-0 defeat for us. The match was forgettable, but I always remember standing by Stevie in the tunnel and him slapping the ‘This is Anfield’ sign on his way out with no emotion on his face.
In some tunnels, there will be laughing and joking before you go out. You might hug someone from the opposition, give someone else a high five. It was never that way at Anfield.
There was silence from Liverpool’s players, nobody looking at each other. You were in no doubt that a battle was coming.
As much as I loved the occasion, I hated the fixture. Liverpool have had a stranglehold over Manchester City since their last victory at Anfield in May 2003. Like so many other City players, the only thing I ever associated with that stadium was frustration and disappointment.
My worst memory was a penalty being wrongly awarded against me in the 2012 League Cup semifinal. We drew 2-2 and got knocked out. Phil Dowd, the referee, apologised for the decision afterwards but it was a bit late!
I’ve seen City fans refer to Anfield as a ‘graveyard’ but tomorrow is the perfect opportunity for them to go ghostbusting.
It seems remarkable that Pep Guardiola (right) has never won there as a player or a manager. But Liverpool, at Anfield, have been his bogey team — with three defeats in the Premier League, another in the Champions League, and a 0-0 draw all he has to show from five visits as City boss.
Guardiola is such an incredible manager and he has absolutely nothing to prove, but that record will be grating away at him. He has been so used to conquering all frontiers, he won’t be able to relax until he has put this particular hoodoo to rest.
I suspect if he takes City to Anfield and wins this time it will completely release his shackles. This is the biggest test of the season. The rivalry between the clubs is huge now and this will be the fixture one suspects he looks for more than any other.
Sometimes you wonder whether Guardiola has overthought things when going to Anfield, rather than just sticking to the tried and tested formula that has served him so well. But continually looking for a different angle is what has made him a genius. I’ve been in his presence enough to realise how differently he sees the game, the way he gets so animated when he starts talking about it. His training
sessions are unbelievable in terms of the demands he places on the players and what he asks them to do.
You will have seen Guardiola getting animated on the touchline at times and it can be over something as little as the pace on a five-yard pass. He wants it so that a player never breaks stride or takes an extra touch to move the ball. Perfection for him is fast, one- touch football that moves beautifully.
I’ve never seen a manager who pays such attention to detail, who doesn’t ease off his intensity. When I have seen the measures he goes to and listen to what the players tell me, I cannot work out why he hasn’t won the Champions League since 2011. That, for City, is the ultimate target.
Winning the Premier League, though, should always set the benchmark for a team and City have got a grip on the top of the table. They have been relentless in rattling out 13 consecutive wins in all competitions, and should they extend that to 14 at Anfield it would be a decisive moment.
It is a shame that Liverpool have not been able to call upon some of their biggest names to help defend their crown. Without Virgil van Dijk, Joe Gomez — a player who I anticipated great things of this year — Diogo Jota, Joel Matip, Thiago Alcantara, Sadio Mane, Fabinho and Alisson Becker at times, the odds have stacked up.
Jurgen Klopp’s issues have come when he has replaced superstars with very good players. Meanwhile, City’s squad depth is incredible — a point illustrated by highlighting John Stones and Ruben Dias as the main central defensive partnership, with £59million Aymeric Laporte and £41m Nathan Ake in reserve. I wouldn’t be disrespectful to Liverpool but it is not wrong to say that if they suffer their third consecutive home defeat in the league, the chance to retain their crown will have gone. They would be 10 points behind City, who also have a game in hand.
To get that buffer, however, Guardiola and his players must do something at Anfield they have not done during his reign.
I don’t care if the stadium is empty, the challenge in front of City is huge. It is not in Liverpool’s nature to lie down and the visitors will have to fight with everything they have.
Should they get three points, the importance will not be understated. I remember the scene from the Amazon Prime documentary on City, when they went to the home of defending champions Chelsea and beat them 1-0.
The players were so overjoyed, they were dancing in the dressing room. Beat Liverpool and those scenes will be repeated.
They could not be playing Liverpool at a better moment. If Guardiola and City can take Anfield for the first time, they will also take an enormous step towards the title.