Manchester City made what they will regard as a powerful statement in the most hostile territory against Liverpool at Anfield - but is it a statement that carries any weight during a Premier League season in limbo? City's attention turned to on-field matters in their first game since being found guilty of 114 charges related to breaches of Premier League financial rules between 2009-10 and 2017-18. The fates, and fixture list, decreed it would be at Liverpool, whose fans nurse the most burning sense of injustice after finishing second to City in 2013-14, 2018-19 and 2021-22.
Their argument centres on the belief those titles could have been theirs had City not possessed the high finance of their Abu Dhabi-based owners, using it in the manner that led to them being investigated. With this as the backdrop, City strode into this fevered Anfield atmosphere, with Liverpool fans high on adrenaline and determined to make their contempt for their rivals obvious - then outclassed Andoni Iraola's side in a 3-0 win. On another day, in other circumstances, the manner of City's victory would have fed the narrative that this was a performance of champions, a winning marker laid down to their rivals as they hold a three-point lead at the top of the table.
Not in the Premier League's dysfunctional state. Instead, once the predictable sound and fury had been diluted by City's composure and the swift realisation they were not unnerved by Anfield or the storm raging around the club, this was a surreal experience. After the feast of excitement delivered when Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp presided over the greatest domestic rivalry of recent years, this was an occasion - remarkable as it seems - that seemed robbed of a sense of jeopardy by the circumstances surrounding it.
Yes, it was a statement display and City celebrated wildly at the final whistle, but will it count for anything given they await potential sanctions suggested including Premier League relegation or a record points deduction? As Erling Haaland looked close to tears in front of Manchester City's fans, including his father Alf-Inge, and head coach Enzo Maresca pumped his fists in jubilation, Anfield's DJ slipped Fleetwood Mac's 'Little Lies' on to the loudspeakers in a final message of defiance. Maresca said: "We knew there was going to be noise but we need to make our own noise by winning games.
We need to learn to deal with the noise but the message is to win games. I try to focus on things I can control. There are things that are not in my hands so I don't stress about them.
"I cannot control things outside football, so why stress? I stress about gameplan, day-by-day training sessions, but the rest it's not in my hands." Haaland added: "For every single person part of Manchester City, every fan, this is a lovely moment that will stay with us for a long time. It was hard, but we showed amazing character from back to front.
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