As is customary but not necessarily compulsory, Manchester City players applauded their Liverpool opponents as they took the pitch Wednesday at the City of Manchester Stadium.
City gave Liverpool a guard of honor to commemorate the Reds' first-ever Premier League title, which was clinched after City's loss to Chelsea last week. The reigning champions clapped on their successors in Liverpool's first match since becoming the earliest Premier League side to win the title.
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You can go back to 1955 when a guard of honor made its first appearance in the top flight of English soccer, when Manchester United applauded then-First Division champions Chelsea as they took the pitch. They've been common in the Premier League, and City themselves received one when they clinched the title during the 2017-18 season.
What made Thursday's guard of honor striking was seeing the reigning Premier League champions give one. This isn't the first time that's happened, as Chelsea honored Leicester City in 2016 after winning the league the previous season.
Leicester's title was a massive upset, whereas Manchester City fended off a fierce Liverpool challenge to win the Premier League last season. City's margin of victory atop the league (1 point) was owed almost entirely to a January 2019 win over Liverpool. Nevertheless, Pep Guardiola said his players would honor Liverpool's achievement.
Soccer
"We will greet Liverpool, when they come to our house, in an incredible way," Guardiola said last week. "We are going to do it because they deserve it."
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Liverpool's 23-point lead over City entering Thursday was far bigger than either club could've expected before the season, and the Reds' eventual margin of victory surely will shape Guardiola's approach to the impending transfer window.
Even before then, Thursday's guard of honor should drive home how far City have to climb back atop the Premier League.