Bottles and smoke bombs thrown at City bus as Reds supporters give hostile welcome to rivals ahead of Champions League clash on Merseyside as Uefa start investigating damage
THE Manchester City coach was smashed up after being hit by bottles and missiles thrown by Liverpool supporters as the team arrived at Anfield for their Champions League clash last night.
Thousands of Reds fans had lined the streets outside the ground to give City a hostile reception as they headed in for the quarter-final first-leg.
But the moment turned sour as some among the masses launched bottles and smoke bombs at the bus carrying Pep Guardiola's side.
In scenes similar to when West Ham fans threw missiles at the Manchester United coach two years ago, the bus was peppered with objects as it pulled into the Anfield car park.
Windows on the luxury coach were shattered and smoke seeped inside from the smoke flares as things threatened to turn nasty in the hours before kick-off.
Two police officers were left injured, Merseyside Police said in a statement.
The driver's door was smashed in, and Uefa officials have been down to investigate the damage and taking pictures to compile a report.
Merseyside police had earlier warned supporters to be on their best behaviour after changing the route the team coaches took amid safety concerns.
The usual route past the King Harry pub has seen amazing scenes in the past when Liverpool fans turned out to show their passionate support.
But in an effort to avoid possible hold-ups where the coach stopped, the route was diverted and the buses came in from the opposite side of the ground, past the Shankly Gates
Yet the appeals of the police and a statement put out by the club failed to get through to some supporters who allowed passion to be taken over by idiocy.
BT Sport pundit Des Kelly said: "You can see some shattered glass, around the coach there is some damage and the players themselves had smoke coming in from the flares."
Liverpool released a a statement condemning the incidents outside the stadium.
It read: "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 cooperate fully with the authorities to identify those responsible.
";The priority now is to establish the facts and offer Manchester City whatever support is necessary."
In the TV studio, Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard admitted the actions of some of the fans had overstepped the mark.
He blasted: "I'm all for a hostile reception and putting pressure on opposition teams - I think we all like that as part of European football - but no, we don't like to see that."
Gerrard joined Gary Lineker, Frank Lampard and Rio Ferdinand in condemning the scenes which provided a nasty start to what promised to be an exciting night of football.
Two years ago the West Ham fans were condemned when their last ever match at the Boleyn Ground was marred by supporters throwing objects at the United coach.
United star Jesse Lingard filmed himself and the squad inside as the bottles rained in on them as they arrived to face the Hammers.
