Liverpool apologise to Man City after bottles thrown at team bus

Soccer Football - Champions League Quarter Final First Leg - Liverpool vs Manchester City - Anfield, Liverpool, Britain - April 4, 2018 Manchester City team bus is hit by missiles outside the stadium before the match Action Images via Reuters/Carl Recine

LIVERPOOL, England (Reuters) - Liverpool have apologised to Manchester City after bottles were thrown at their team bus as they arrived at Anfield for the Champions League quarter-final first leg on Wednesday.

Liverpool fans had organised a "coach welcome" for their Premier League rivals and their own team, lining a side street where the team buses were known to be arriving at the ground.

Soccer Football - Champions League Quarter Final First Leg - Liverpool vs Manchester City - Anfield, Liverpool, Britain - April 4, 2018 Liverpool fans set off flares outside the stadium before the match Action Images via Reuters/Carl Recine

"We apologise unreservedly to Pep Guardiola, his players, staff and officials caught up in the incident," Liverpool said in a statement.

"The behaviour of a number of individuals was completely unacceptable and the club will cooperate fully with the authorities to identify those responsible."

Fans let off red flares and sang their club's songs before the City coach arrived and beer cans were thrown at the bus. At least one bottle was thrown and smashed on the side of the bus but did not appear to break any of its windows.

Soccer Football - Champions League Quarter Final First Leg - Liverpool vs Manchester City - Anfield, Liverpool, Britain - April 4, 2018 Liverpool fans set off flares and throw missiles at the Manchester City team bus outside the stadium before the match Action Images via Reuters/Carl Recine

City manager Pep Guardiola, whose team lost the match 3-0, was disappointed by the incident.

"Normally when the police know that is going to happen, they try to avoid it happening. I did not expect that from the Liverpool side, from the people," the Spaniard said.

"One year ago, something happened in Dortmund," he said, referring to the attack, with explosives, on Borussia Dortmund's team bus before a game against Monaco.

Soccer Football - Champions League Quarter Final First Leg - Liverpool vs Manchester City - Anfield, Liverpool, Britain - April 4, 2018 Liverpool fans set off flares and throw missiles at the Manchester City team bus outside the stadium before the match Action Images via Reuters/Carl Recine

"We come here to play football and I don’t understand this kind of situation," he said, adding that no players had been hurt.

"Nothing happen, the bus is destroyed. I didn’t expect that a club as prestigious as Liverpool would do these kind of things. Of course, it is not Liverpool, it is the people – it was only one, only two, only three. Hopefully, it doesn’t happen again," he said.

European soccer's governing body UEFA is likely to investigate the incident and Liverpool could face financial sanctions.

Soccer Football - Champions League Quarter Final First Leg - Liverpool vs Manchester City - Anfield, Liverpool, Britain - April 4, 2018 Liverpool fans set off flares and throw missiles at the Manchester City team bus outside the stadium before the match Action Images via Reuters/Carl Recine

Soccer Football - Champions League Quarter Final First Leg - Liverpool vs Manchester City - Anfield, Liverpool, Britain - April 4, 2018 Liverpool fans react as the Manchester City team bus approaches the stadium before the match Action Images via Reuters/Carl Recine

(Reporting by Simon Evans, editing by Ed Osmond)

Soccer Football - Champions League Quarter Final First Leg - Liverpool vs Manchester City - Anfield, Liverpool, Britain - April 4, 2018 Liverpool fans set off flares and throw missiles at the Manchester City team bus outside the stadium before the match Action Images via Reuters/Carl Recine

Soccer Football - Champions League Quarter Final First Leg - Liverpool vs Manchester City - Anfield, Liverpool, Britain - April 4, 2018 Liverpool fans outside the stadium before the match Action Images via Reuters/Carl Recine