Attack on Liverpool bus totally unacceptable - Manchester City

Manchester City have "strongly condemned" the actions of those responsible for damage to the Liverpool team coach on its journey back from the Etihad Stadium on Saturday.

The club said an object was thrown towards the coach in a residential area after City's 4-1 Premier League win.

City and Liverpool will support Greater Manchester Police's investigation.

"Incidents of this kind are totally unacceptable," the Premier League champions said in a statement.

"We strongly condemn the actions of the individual(s) responsible."

The club also said they were "disappointed" by "inappropriate chants" by their fans during the game.

The chants taunting Liverpool fans were heard during the first half of the match.

City's statement added: "We regret any offence these chants may have caused and will continue to work with supporter groups and officials from both clubs to eradicate hateful chanting from this fixture."

The Premier League condemned the chanting and said it was "treating the issue of tragedy chanting as a priority and as a matter of urgency".

October's reverse fixture between the two clubs at Anfield was also overshadowed by similar 'tragedy chanting'.

An image also showed damage to the City windscreen after their 1-0 defeat, with detectives investigating a complaint of alleged criminal damage

In 2018, City's bus was attacked before a Champions League quarter-final, when bottles, cans and flares were thrown.

City manager Pep Guardiola said members of the Anfield crowd threw coins at him during October's league meeting, following which he apologised for supporter chants which referenced the Hillsborough and Heysel tragedies.

Last month, Liverpool and Manchester United managers Jurgen Klopp and Erik ten Hag called for an end to "tragedy chanting" in a joint statement before the two sides met.

In November, the Football Association had expressed concerns over the rise of "abhorrent chants" related to stadium tragedies - including by fans of City and United on visits to Anfield.

In February, Manchester United and Leeds United "strongly condemned" chants about historic tragedies when they met at Elland Road.

Ninety-seven Liverpool fans lost their lives as a result of a crush at an FA Cup semi-final against Nottingham Forest, at Sheffield Wednesday's Hillsborough stadium, on 15 April 1989.

It remains the UK's worst sporting disaster, with a jury at an inquest later ruling that the fans were unlawfully killed.