In their first game since the club was found guilty on 114 charges of financial breaches, Manchester City won 3-0 at Anfield against Liverpool on Sunday.
At the end of September, an independent commission upheld 114 of 115 charges brought by the Premier League in relation to City's violations of the competition's financial rules. City are appealing and have maintained their innocence as they and the rest of the league await news of a sanction that could deepen the crisis for the eight-time English champions and the English game as a whole.
For City manager Enzo Maresca, it was a very successful start to the season at Manchester City, winning all six Premier League games played and becoming the fourth manager in Premier League history to win his first six matches in charge of a new club, joining Carlo Ancelotti at Chelsea, Pep Guardiola at Manchester City and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer at Manchester United.
After the chaos of the past days, the Citizens were able to deliver one of the best performances of the season in the second half at Anfield and scored three goals via Erling Haaland, Jeremy Doku and Rayan Cherki in a hostile environment. Thousands of Liverpool fans waited for the Manchester City bus before the game, forcing the bus to change its usual route to avoid the home fans on the road. Banners reading "Cheats" and "Shamchester City" greeted the visiting team and fans at Anfield, but City showed little sign of being affected by the hostile reception.
City fans appeared unfazed and were able to sneak their inflatable bananas into the away end at Anfield, a trend of the fans since the 1987-1988 season when they had been relegated to the second tier of English soccer. It comes from a former Manchester City player called Imre Varadi, who was called "Imre Banana" by a fan, leading another fan to bring an inflatable banana to the next game, starting a trend that lasted for years. For them, it was a way to make some fun about the discussion of a possible relegation of their club after the verdict.
Between 2009 and 2018, a period in which they won three Premier League titles, City were found to have artificially reduced their costs and inflated their revenues to the tune of over £900 million, predominantly through the use of what the independent panel termed "sham" contracts with sponsors. The years immediately after saw Guardiola's side embark on one of the most sustained periods of success in the sport, winning five of the next six Premier League titles in addition to the 2023 Champions League and five domestic cups.
The Liverpool away game was the first one in their schedule after the verdict became public. Manchester City will now face PSG on Wednesday for their second match of the Champions League opening phase and former coach Guardiola is expected to be at the Etihad Stadium for the first time since he left the club in the summer. You can watch that match live on Paramount+.
Earlier this month, Guardiola wrote in a social media post, "I want every single Manchester City fan across the world to know I am here; more than ever. I am, always have been, always will, be behind my club, my owner, my chairman, Ferran [Soriano], the players, staff, [manager] Enzo [Maresca] and you, our unique supporters. Let me be clear: we will get through this together. I love you all."
The PSG game will be the club's first home match since the guilty verdicts were announced and the home fans will likely show their support to the club and the current team. Sunday's clash at Anfield may have been just the beginning of a season in which Manchester City can expect a similarly hostile reception at grounds across England, with rival fans waiting for the outcome of the club's appeal and the consequences of the verdict.
