Enzo Maresca described the feeling in the Manchester City squad as “fantastic” as they prepare to face Liverpool in their first game since the club was found guilty of 114 breaches of Premier League financial rules.
The Premier League confirmed in a statement on September 29 that, following an independent commission ruling, City had been found guilty of all but one of the charges of financial breaches brought against the club.
Among the breaches were the creation of ‘sham’ contracts to help inflate revenue and reduce costs by more than £900m over nine years covering the 2009-10 season to the 2017-18 campaign.
City have appealed the decision, and their future in the top flight hinges on the outcome of that process and the potential sanctions handed down.
Maresca’s men could hardly face a worse first fixture since the Premier League ruling as they travel to what will surely be a hugely emotional Anfield.
With City having finished ahead of Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool in thrilling title races in 2018-19 and 2021-22, the visitors can expect to face a ferocious atmosphere from a home crowd fuelled by the feeling those titles should have belonged to Liverpool.
However, Maresca seems undaunted by that prospect, making it clear spirits are high in the camp amid the crisis the club faces.
“The feeling is fantastic, to be honest,” Maresca said in an interview with the club’s in-house media ahead of the game with Andoni Iraola’s Reds.
“The players are excited for the next two games. But especially they are excited because in this moment we are top of the league. The players are just focused on that.
“They know what we can control is the football side – they are not worried at all about different things.
“They know their profession and they know that the noise is there, but they don’t care too much about the noise.
“They are just focused in this moment on how we can beat Liverpool and how, together with the fans, we can try to win in Anfield.”
City are top of the Premier League with a three-point lead over Arsenal, who open the weekend’s action against Leeds United in Saturday’s early kick-off.
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