Liverpool topping Manchester United’s global pulling power (no wonder Everton have the blues)

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Liverpool topping Manchester United’s global pulling power (no wonder Everton have the blues)
Size and make-up of Uefa Super Cup crowd shows Liverpool are the side that everyone wants to see
Myth that Everton are club with most support on Merseyside is a lie – just take a stroll through the streets where there are red shirts everywhere



Liverpool players celebrate with the trophy after winning the Uefa Super Cup against Chelsea at Besiktas Park Stadium in Istanbul. Photo: AFP


There is a myth that Everton are the club with the most support on Merseyside. A stroll through the streets of Liverpool nails that lie. There are red shirts everywhere. There are plenty of blue ones, too, but the Liver Bird is much more prominent than the Prince Rupert’s Tower badge of Everton.
It’s tough being the second team in a city – especially because Goodison lorded it over Anfield for so many years. With Liverpool again European champions, blues take any consolation they can and the belief that they are more Scouse than their neighbours across Stanley Park is a key part of their identity.
Deep down, most Evertonians know that they are outnumbered in their own neighbourhoods. They can maintain the fallacy, however, by pointing to Liverpool’s huge out-of-town support.
It dwarfs the local fan base. At matches like Wednesday’s Super Cup game against Chelsea in Istanbul and the Champions League final in Madrid in June, the extraordinary scope of the club’s reach was visible.


Liverpool players run to celebrate with Adrian after their penalty shoot-out triumph. Photo: AP