Maresca and Dias defy celebration critics after City's 3-0 demolition at Anfield

Manchester City’s manager Enzo Maresca and captain Ruben Dias have firmly rejected criticism of the squad’s post-match celebrations after a 3-0 victory at Anfield — City’s first fixture since the club was found guilty of serious and multiple breaches of Premier League financial rules.

The win prompted on-pitch celebrations with travelling supporters, a response that drew sharp criticism from several prominent commentators who argued the club’s conduct should have been more measured given the backdrop of the guilty verdicts. Maresca was unmoved by the backlash.

“We won 0-3 at Anfield,” the City manager said. “What do you want us to do? Even if it was 0-1, it would be exactly the same. We are here today to win tomorrow’s game and we work every day to win games. It’s the only thing that we can think, we can be focused. The rest is just things from outside that we need to deal with — but we were so happy inside the pitch and you cannot imagine inside the changing room.”

Dias, speaking publicly for the first time since the verdicts were delivered, acknowledged that the atmosphere at Anfield had been impossible to ignore, but made clear that winning the game was all the justification the players needed to celebrate.

“I very much stand by the manager’s words,” the Portugal defender said. “So be it early in the season, later in the season, I — and I think we — will enjoy it just as much and celebrate however it feels in the moment. It will be a show of how much it means to us.”

Dias also pointed to the significance of the result on its own terms, independent of the wider context surrounding the club. “I feel it all mixes together but mainly we all know it is not easy for us in recent years to get three points at Anfield, and that is definitely the main reason — we are here for the points, to win competitions.”

The victory keeps City in contention near the top of the Premier League table and represents a notable scalp regardless of circumstance, with wins at Anfield having been a rare commodity for most clubs in recent seasons.