One would expect Pep Guardiola to shed light on Manchester City’s performance after they thrashed Newcastle United by a margin of 5-0. Instead, Guardiola bemoaned how everyone in the country prefers Liverpool to Manchester City, as both sides are engaged in a toe-to-toe battle for the Premier League title.
“Everybody in this country, the media and everyone, supports Liverpool,” Guardiola told BeIn Sports. “Of course, because Liverpool has an incredible history behind [them] in European competition — not in the Premier League, because they have won one in 30 years — but it’s not a problem at all.”
A few days later, Chelsea boss’ Thomas Tuchel too echoed similar views: “When he trained Dortmund, the whole country loved Dortmund. So now he trains Liverpool and you have the feeling the whole country loves Liverpool.”
So is Liverpool the most loved team in the Premier League? A recent survey, conducted by Sportsbible, paints an entirely contrasting picture. It bagged an overwhelming majority of votes in a poll to deduce which was the most hated clubs in the Premier League. With 35.1 percent of the votes, Manchester United came second, followed by Chelsea and Arsenal.
If you will ask any Manchester United or Everton fans about whom they are supporting for the title race, most of them would vote against Liverpool. Even among the neutral supporters, a sense of bitterness prevails when it comes to the team.
Two years ago when they were chasing their first Premier League title in three decades, “Anyone but Liverpool” was the war-cry among other clubs’ fans. When they eventually won that season, the second-placed Manchester City had to face the ire for conceding the Premier League title to the Reds.
As far as the current season is concerned, Liverpool will face Real Madrid in the final of the Champions League. They are just four points behind the table-toppers Manchester City with one game in hand. They are supposed to play Southampton and Wolves, and they need to win both games to stay in the hunt for the domestic championship.
Featured Image Credit: Twitter (@Andy Robertson)
