The atmosphere at Anfield for Liverpool’s clash with Manchester City was always going to be fiery.
Banners branding the visitors ‘cheats’ were held up around the ground, while City’s players were met with a chorus of boos. It was another reminder of the anger surrounding the club following an independent commission finding them guilty of serious financial rule breaches between 2009 and 2018.
But amid all the hostility, there was something rather bizarre going on in the away end: hundreds of inflatable bananas.
The 1894 fan group handed out more than 1,000 of the yellow plastic bananas before the game, bringing back one of the most unusual traditions in Manchester City’s history.
The story dates back to August 1987, when supporter Frank Newton took a five-foot inflatable banana to Maine Road for a match against Plymouth Argyle. The inspiration? City striker Imre Varadi, who had been nicknamed ‘Imre Banana’. Varadi scored 31 goals in 69 appearances for City, and even he has welcomed the return of the tradition, saying it brings some fun back into football.
And that is perhaps exactly what City supporters were trying to achieve at Anfield.
With their club facing an uncertain future, the bananas offered a nostalgic reminder of a very different City - the club of the 1980s, when they were bouncing between the top flight and the second tier and were a far cry from the global powerhouse they are today.
There was something almost surreal about seeing the bananas filling the away end while City faced accusations over their modern financial practices.
The contrast could hardly have been greater. On the pitch, City cruised to a 3-0 victory. In the stands, their supporters were looking back to a simpler, stranger era.
For the supporters group, it was more than just a bit of nostalgia. It was a way of reminding everyone that, whatever happens next, there is still a City beyond the boardrooms, balance sheets and courtrooms.
And, for one afternoon at Anfield, that City was represented by a sea of inflatable bananas.