I have to agree with Neville in that us playing the underdog suited us. The team and crowd were 100% together.
It was a superb performance and i love that they hate coming to us,
I don't think it made any difference tbh. Our fans are always prepared to remind City of the power of our house these days, regardless of the context. There's a job for the fans to do, and they do it every time.
Nobody else of course outside the club considered it a factor. The 5,5 year unbeaten home record with a crowd was irrelevant in their eyes. We were going to lose 3/4/5-0, as someone who has never won a major trophy in his life, (or the Charity Shield for that matter) was going to waltz into our house and score as many goals as he liked. Well he didn't and they didn't, and Mo just reminded them what a world class forward who has won everything and the kitchen sink, looks like.
He could have scored more as well, probably should have, but with our record against them at home, one goal is usually enough. We needed a hand from the VAR obviously, otherwise we might be having a different discussion, well the usual one about shattered and knackered and exhausted that has dominated every match thread for the past two months. But we're not a bunch of OAP's just yet, we can still compete with City or anyone else in the league, we just need to show it more often than we have been.
The other game was off the pitch, as claim and counter claim went back and forth between us and them before and afterwards. There was a time not so long ago, when the fans of both clubs had a common enemy to face every year, and so got on well with each other. In 2012, Gerrard was helped back onto the pitch and sharing jokes with their fans in that corner, during the heat of battle. Now it's a different kind of battle that has taken over the fixture. Whatever the reasons, it's sad to see how the atmosphere at a once family friendly fixture, has sunk to the depths when the common enemy turn up instead. It shouldn't have to be that way.
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