Anfield win and celebrations

Manchester City beat Liverpool 3-0 at Anfield on Sunday, 11 October, a result that kept their perfect Premier League start alive and moved them three points clear at the top. Liverpool supporters greeted the City players with boos and chants of 'Going down, going down!', amid speculation about possible sanctions against the club. Criticism followed the celebrations on the pitch, with some media and fans questioning them. At his press conference on Tuesday, 13 October, Maresca said he could not understand why the celebrations were being questioned, describing the win as a significant victory over their rivals.

“We won 0-3 at Anfield. What do you want us to do?”

Guilty verdict and the charges

The Premier League found Manchester City guilty of breaching its financial rules, but outlets give different counts of the charges. Reuters refers to a 115-charge case, while SAPO reports 114 breaches across nine seasons, from 2008/09 to 2017/18, and says the league confirmed the club was found guilty of all the charges linked to financial rule breaches. The New York Times reports that the club was found to have artificially inflated sponsorships by over £850million ($1.1bn). LBC describes more than 100 breaches and says the club faces heavy punishment if its appeal fails. City deny any wrongdoing, have appealed the decision and say they have 'irrefutable evidence' to support their case.

Fans and players respond

Maresca said the supporters had probably suffered more than the players or him, since rival fans could call them cheats. He told reporters the situation was more complicated for fans than for the squad.

“It probably has been more tough for our fans than for the players or for me because it's probably more complicated.”

Captain Rúben Dias said the squad had talked matters through quickly after the reports came out and that it trusts the club. He said people do not like it when City win, but the squad enjoys winning, and he described the group as calm.

“I feel like when you build yourself as a player, you build yourself against any kind of noise.”

Next match and Guardiola

City host Paris Saint-Germain at the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday, 14 October, in their second Champions League league-phase match. They opened the competition with a 2-0 win at FC Porto. LBC reports that former manager Pep Guardiola is expected in the crowd on his first visit to the Etihad since standing down last summer. Maresca said he last spoke with Guardiola after the Manchester United game and did not know whether the players would have time to see him if he attends.