Why do Man City fans bring inflatable bananas to stadiums? Story behind rebirth as Enzo Maresca makes demand

As expected, the Man City players received a hostile atmosphere at Anfield in the warm-up and as they emerged from the tunnel prior to kick-off in the huge Premier League showdown.However, as the likes of Erling Haaland, Ruben Dias, Antoine Semenyo and Rayan Cherki made their way over to the travelling City fans, it was noticeable that there were many inflatable bananas among the crowd.Man City fans and their inflatable bananas at AnfieldAFP/GettyMan City’s inflatable bananas craze is backGettyBut why? Well, it was widely reported that 1894 - the City fan group - had distributed upwards of 1,000 inflatable bananas among supporters traveling to Anfield.The trend originated all the way back in August 1987 when Man City supporter Frank Newton brought a five-foot blow-up banana to Maine Road for a match against Plymouth Argyle. "It started because of [former City forward] Imre Varadi," said Dante Friend of 1894."It was just one guy at the game who referred to him as "Imre Banana". A guy called Frank Newton took an inflatable banana to the next game, and then everyone started doing it."Following the 3-0 win over Liverpool and the rebirth of inflatable bananas, that is the image selected on the cover of the Man City matchday programme for Saturday’s clash against Ipswich.Man City fans certainly added to the spectacle at AnfieldGettySpeaking ahead of what is City’s first Premier League home game since the aforementioned guilty verdict, Enzo Maresca has called for supporters to pack out the Etihad Stadium with inflatable bananas."It’s very nice. I didn’t know the history behind the banana, but I hope tomorrow I can see many bananas in the stadium,” he said in the pre-match press conference on Friday."I think it creates a nice environment for the fans and for everyone that is in the stadium."