‘We make our own noise’: Maresca hails Manchester City after Liverpool triumph

Enzo Maresca praised Manchester City for “making their own noise” at Liverpool as they brushed aside the controversy and threats surrounding the club with a comprehensive 3-0 win at Anfield.

City, in their first outing since the club were found guilty on 114 charges relating to Premier League financial rules, maintained their 100% start to the season courtesy of goals from Erling Haaland, the excellent Jérémy Doku and Rayan Cherki. A sixth successive league win ensured Maresca equalled the best start to a managerial reign in Premier League history and kept City at the top of the table.

The City head coach said: “My message to the players since we were together three days ago, when they all came back from their national teams, has been quite clear: guys, the noise will always be there so it’s about how we learn to deal with the noise and it’s our duty to make our noise. Our noise is to win games in the way we did today and to be happy. It was our fans making the noise at the end of the game today.”

Maresca smiled when asked whether he needed City’s appeal to be heard as quickly as possible in order to celebrate such an impressive win. “You cannot imagine how happy I am,” he replied. “I don’t care. I’m here to try and prepare games and to win games. Hopefully I can speak about this situation when we win the appeal.”

City’s chief executive Ferran Soriano was present at Anfield as the fallout from the club’s guilty verdict continues. Maresca reflected: “We were all together. For the importance of the game, Liverpool away, Anfield away, it was a good idea from the club to be all together. That togetherness is what we need.”

The game turned on the 62nd-minute dismissal of Liverpool midfielder Ryan Gravenberch for a second bookable offence. Haaland opened the scoring one minute later and City then ran riot.

Andoni Iraola, the Liverpool head coach, said: “We played two different games: one until the red card, and one from the red card until the end. I think we were the better team until the red card and they were better than us, obviously, after the red card. But I think the players deserve credit today because they’ve given everything.”

Iraola insisted Gravenberch’s red card was harsh. “I think the first foul of Ryan is never a yellow card, never,” he added. “The referee doesn’t even call the foul straight away. He lets it go, Elliot Anderson does a couple of steps and then decides to go down. I don’t know why he shows the yellow card after that because it’s not a situation where it leaves an advantage.”