TWO people have been arrested and the Liverpool team bus was BLOCKED as around 2,000 Manchester United descended on Old Trafford to protest the Glazers’ ownership.
Red Devils fans tried to disrupt the Premier League showdown with their bitter rivals for the second time in 11 days by blockading a Liverpool team coach and even letting its tyres down.
While, outside the stadium, smoke grenades and flares were set off, and bottles reportedly thrown, in further signs of unrest as two were arrested for public order offences.
A Greater Manchester Police statement read: “We are aware of protest taking place outside Old Trafford stadium, with small number of people seemingly intent on disrupting fixture.
“Officers in attendance to maintain safety while facilitating right to peaceful protest. Two arrests made for public order offences.”
Images on social media showed the vehicle held up by cars on a quiet road with Manchester city centre in the background.
And it has also been claimed the coach’s tyres were then let down.
Pictures showed police arriving at the scene to disperse those blocking the red bus. The cops quickly stopped the reported 50 protestors from holding up the vehicle any longer.
No Liverpool stars were on board, with the bus understood to have been on its way to collect the team from the Hyatt Regency hotel where the they were staying.
However, when it met trouble, reserve coaches were instead used to take Jurgen Klopp’s side to the Theatre of Dreams – and throw protesters outside the ground off the scent.
Liverpool ultimately arrived through a back entrance just before 7pm – an hour and 15 minutes before kick-off – allaying fears of a second postponement.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and his United side had already arrived SIX HOURS early, holed up in makeshift bedrooms in hospitality boxes.
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That was one of many safety measure inplemented after the ugly scenes a week and a half ago that saw the game called off.
A top-secret operation to foil further anti-Glazer protests was launched at the start of the week, with players sworn to secrecy and some staff even kept out of the loop to prevent leaks.
And the club’s ‘ring of steel’ was largely effective, with no repeat of the violence that saw fans storm the pitch and a police officer suffer severe facial injuries.
Fans gathered outside the ground did, however, let off smoke bombs and flares, with Sky Sports also claiming some threw bottles.
Police in riot helmets barred entrance points as supporters brandished banners with anti-Glazer slogans.
Mounted coppers eventually drove fans away from the area, allowing the game to kick-off, as scheduled, at 8.15pm.
United made a flying start as Bruno Fernandes found an opener, via a wicked deflection from Liverpool defender Nat Phillips.
However Liverpool quickly took control with strikes from Diogo Jota and Roberto Firmino giving them the lead before half-time..
Firmino and Mohamed Salah netted after the break, either side of Marcus Rashford’s goal, to seal a well-deserved 4-2 win – and a massive boost to the Reds’ top four hopes.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
