As the English Premier League (EPL) season ended in an explosive finale, with Manchester City retaining their title after beating Aston Villa 3-2 and pipping Liverpool, who beat Wolverhampton Wanderers 3-1, by a single point, Bahrain-based supporters of all four teams had contrasting reactions to how things transpired.
Primary school teacher and City fan, Ryan Mason, who has been living in the kingdom for a year was so nervous when City were 2-0 down that he planned on making a quick exit from the café where he was watching the game.
“When City were two-nil down, I was planning my escape route because there were a lot of Liverpool supporters there,” he told the GDN, laughing. “But, then, in the space of five minutes, we scored three goals! This is why I love this game.”
Former Bahrain resident and City supporter Gareth Blakely, a sales executive, was actually at Etihad Stadium in Manchester and celebrated with the rest of the home team fans as City won.
“We went from despair to elation,” he told the GDN by phone from inside the stadium with the sound of celebrating fans almost drowning out his voice. “We always knew Liverpool would win their game. City being 2-0 down made the task harder but we had the character to win.”
Meanwhile, lifelong Aston Villa fan, Laura Sherrington, a private airline executive who has lived in Bahrain since 2006, found herself watching the game at a popular sports lounge in Adliya with other Villa supporters – and Liverpool fans.
“I was sitting with Liverpool fans who were Villa fans for 90 minutes,” she told the GDN. “I’m sorry we couldn’t help them out. We held the champions for as long as we could. 2-0 at 75 minutes was impressive and shows that Villa are not a team that should be underestimated. Yes, we threw it away but we’ll come back stronger next season. Steven
Gerrard is a fantastic manager and, after the summer break, we will be fighting for Europe!”
Jovial, Bahrain-based Wolves supporter, Darshan Singh, a management consultant who, a day before the game had predicted – accurately – that the Wolves would score the first goal of their game against Liverpool, made a quip to GDN.
“The Wolves huffed and puffed until the 84th minute,” he joked. “And Liverpool finished the game as worthy winners. Exciting match. Klopp was not comfortable on the sidelines.”
And, for members of the Official Liverpool Supporters Club (OLSC) of Bahrain who had gathered 40-strong at a restaurant in Seef, the evening, after promising so much, ended in heartbreak when Liverpool’s bid for a historic quadruple of titles ended with City’s championship win.
But OLSC secretary, Dr Ayman Raees told the GDN that all the club’s members were extremely proud of their team.
“We’re so proud of them, proud of their achievements,” he said. “They took City to the wire. We lost the championship by just one point in literally the last few moments of the EPL season.”
Liverpool’s performance in the 2021-22 season, which could still culminate in a treble if they win the Champions League final against Real Madrid, Raees said, meant that there was a lot of hope among supporters that they would carry on with their fine form next season.
“There have been a lot of bonuses, a lot of positives,” he added. “We couldn’t be more proud of them!”
The OLSC chairman, Dr Dheya Tawfeeqi, and vice chairman, Fahad Al-Abbasi, Raees added, had travelled specially to England to see the game, along other passionate members of the supporters club.
Meanwhile, Blakely, who was still at the Etihad Stadium with other ecstatic City fans long after the match ended, praised Pep Guardiola, the team’s manager, calling him a ‘master tactician’. And, we won … and Liverpool didn’t!” he said. “I couldn’t be happier!”