Manchester City captain Ruben Dias has defended his club’s celebrations after beating Liverpool, saying on Tuesday that “people don’t love us winning and we love to win”. He spoke even though City have been found guilty of a long list of Premier League financial rule breaches.
City were jeered throughout by Liverpool supporters during a 3-0 win at Anfield last weekend. The result moved them top of the Premier League, three points clear of reigning champions Arsenal, and they have six wins from six matches. It was City’s first game since the verdict, which found them guilty of more than 100 charges linked to breaches of the top flight’s financial fair-play rules.
Dias says the squad trusts the club
Dias said he felt he was speaking for the whole group. “I really feel like I speak for the whole group; we trust the club,” he said. He made the comments although City were found guilty of 34 charges of failing to cooperate with the league’s investigation.
The Portugal defender argued that the level of criticism made little difference. In his view, the reaction from others stays the same, because the people who dislike City’s success will keep doing so while the club keeps aiming to win.
City faced criticism for the way they celebrated against Liverpool, who were down to 10 men. Manager Enzo Maresca did not apologise, asking what the club was supposed to have done wrong after a 3-0 win on the road.
Maresca and Dias defend the joy of victory
Maresca said the margin would not have changed anything. “Even if it was 1-0, it would be exactly the same,” he said. He added that the team works every day to win games, and that winning is the only thing it can focus on.
Dias backed his manager. He said City would enjoy a win at Anfield whenever it came in the season, and would celebrate however the moment felt. He said the celebrations would show how much the result meant to the players.
Maresca also said the fallout from the guilty verdicts had been harder for City supporters than for the players or for him. He said rival fans could call City supporters cheats, which made the situation more difficult for them.
PSG clash and Guardiola’s expected return to the Etihad
City host Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League on Wednesday. PSG are the holders and are bidding for a third straight title, having come from two goals down to beat City 4-2 in the 2024-25 edition. Both clubs are backed by wealthy owners from the Gulf, with City supported by the ruling family of Abu Dhabi and PSG financed by the Qatari state.
Maresca said the task was clear but demanding. “So we need the perfect game, but at the same time doing our best, I think we can beat them and be happy at the end,” he said. He described PSG as the best team in Europe at present.
Former City manager Pep Guardiola is due to attend the match, which will be his first visit to the Etihad since he stood down at the end of last season. He has already publicly backed his old club during the current crisis. Maresca said he had spoken to Guardiola after the United game and called the prospect of his visit “a nice feeling”.
