Manchester City boss Enzo Maresca has defended the post-match celebrations of his squad following their 3-0 win at Liverpool on Sunday.

The trip to Merseyside was City’s first game after an independent commission found them guilty of all charges related to serious breaches of Premier League financial rules.

The club have since appealed the verdict and continue to deny any wrongdoing.

City players were pictured celebrating with the travelling away fans following full-time at Anfield – after goals from Erling Haaland, Jeremy Doku and Rayan Cherki secured the victory – which sparked criticism across social media.

When asked about the celebrations and the comments that followed ahead of facing Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League on Wednesday, Maresca said: “Criticised for what? We won 0-3 at Anfield. What do you want us to do?

“I am here today; the players are here today to win tomorrow. We work every day to win games.

“It is the only thing that we can think and focus on. The rest is just things from outside which we need to deal [with]. We were so, so happy from inside the pitch and the dressing room.”

‘I don’t stress about things I can’t control,’ says Maresca

The City boss then reiterated that he remains calm regarding the situation with the process ongoing.

City submitted their appeal on Thursday October 1 and the Premier League has new rules this season which state an appeal has to be heard within 12 weeks of it being lodged. The appeal can last a maximum of five days – held over a block of days, so Monday to Friday.

However, City may try to delay the appeal process by arguing that the new rules should not apply in this case as City were charged in 2023 – three years before the new rules were introduced.

But, as it stands, the five-day appeal, to be heard by a new three-person panel, has to be finished by mid-December.

“I said many times, I am completely calm and relaxed. I promise you that I stress a lot about game plan and how we train,” Maresca added.

“I don’t stress about things I don’t control. The message with players will be the same.

“As I said, we know how serious the situation is. It is not something we can do something [about]. Where we can do something is inside the pitch.

“The noise around the team is a big noise but we need to try to deal with that and try and make our noise, to win games.”

Dias: I stand by Maresca’s words

City captain Ruben Dias, who played the full 90 minutes in the victory, echoed the statement from his manager, as he added: “I very much stand by the manager’s words. It’s a win at Anfield.

“In whatever circumstance, be it early in the season or late in the season, we will enjoy it just as much and celebrate however we feel in the moment. It’s a show of how much it means to us.

“If there’s more or less noise, for whatever reason, it’s all the same. Same as before because people don’t love us winning and we love to win.

“It’s a normal scenario where whenever you win, there are people that are not happy with it because they have the same ambition to win.

“It all mixes together a little bit but mainly we know it’s not easy to get three points at Anfield. That is definitely the main reason. We’re here for the points and to win competitions; that’s the main thing on our minds.”

Dias also revealed the City players held a meeting after news of the guilty verdict broke on September 29.

“When it broke, we felt we should have a conversation as soon as we got back,” he said, regarding their return from the international break.

“We did, for everyone to be on the same page and be clear about our peace of mind. We moved on from there.

“It happened in a moment when we were not together but quickly we reached out to each other, found calm and progressed forward.”

‘City players sent message with celebrations’

Sky Sports News’ Ben Ransom at Maresca’s press conference:

“We all saw those scenes at Anfield. The City fans wanted to show their support throughout the game to the club and the players, and the players reciprocated when they scored each of the three goals in front of them, and again at the end of the game when the result was confirmed.

“That was all set against the backdrop of the intense goading from the Liverpool fans who wanted to have their say about how they felt about the findings of that independent commission.

“For the players, I think it was as much about sending a message back to the fans at the end that they valued their support, but also a little bit of them wanting to send a message to the wider football world, to other clubs in the Premier League as well.

“They are defiant in the face of that verdict, certainly while the appeal is ongoing.”

Alexander Zverev celebrated becoming the year-end No 1 with a 7-6 (8-6) 4-6 7-6 (7-1) victory over Alexander Bublik to reach the quarter-finals at the Shanghai Masters.

Zverev, who won the French Open and US Open this year, never looked 100 per cent comfortable, and admitted his “ankle was acting up” following his win.

The top seed will take on ninth seed Alex de Minaur next after the Australian produced one of his best performances of the year to beat Karen Khachanov in straight sets 6-3 6-4 to advance.

Zverev said: “I’m starting to feel my body more and more, but happy to be through because it was a difficult match. He’s been playing amazing tennis this week. I think the most important thing was that I won today.”

With current world No 1 Jannik Sinner out for the rest of 2026 due to a knee injury and Carlos Alcaraz unable to overtake Zverev this year, the German was competing for the first time since he clinched the year-end No 1 honours for the first time on Monday.

“It is very, very special. To finish the world No 1 is a different kind of feeling,” said Zverev. “It’s a different kind of responsibility on your shoulders. I’m looking forward to that because I’m close to being 30 years old. It’s a special feeling to achieve that.”

Zverev vs Bublik: Tale of the Tape

Former British No 1 Tim Henman was full of praise for Zverev at the Laver Cup in London last month.

“You’ve got to earn the ranking points, and the way he’s played this year has been absolutely phenomenal,” he told the ATP Tour.

“He was a service game away from being in all four Slam finals. To have been working so hard and then not being able to win a Slam, and winning two this year and reaching the Wimbledon final, it’s phenomenal.

“Twelve months ago, he had a tough time. He wasn’t playing well, and he didn’t play well in the Laver Cup. The transformation 12 months on is phenomenal.”

Henman added: “When you see the way he’s been stepping up in the big matches, he hasn’t always played his best, but he’s found a way to win. Then you give yourself a chance to play better. The way he’s played in the Slams speaks for itself.”

Boulter suffers early Wuhan exit

Katie Boulter was beaten by 11th seed Diana Shnaider in the first round of the Wuhan Open.

The British No 1 struggled to hold serve against Russian Shnaider, who reached the semi-finals of the French Open, and fell to a 6-3 6-1 loss.

Boulter, who has been mourning the death of her grandfather, began well and led by an early break but she was under constant pressure on serve and was unable to match the consistency of her opponent.

The 22-year-old left-hander, who beat Boulter in the 2024 Hong Kong final, is now 3-0 against the Brit and has 30 tour-level wins this season.

Swiatek aiming to end year on a positive note as WTA Finals spot hangs in balance

Iga Swiatek has played at every edition of the WTA Finals since ‌2021, but with the Pole running out of time to claim a place at this year’s season-ending tournament ‌she knows the importance of going deep at her few remaining events.

The six-time major ​champion has won only one tournament this year at the Canadian Open in August and failed to advance beyond ​the quarter-final stage at all four Grand Slams.

The 25-year-old, ‌who won the WTA Finals in 2023, is 10th in the qualifying table for the November ​8-15 tournament at Indian Wells with only four of the eight spots still up for grabs.

“Obviously I’m aware of the situation and it would be great to get into the Finals, ‌for sure it’s our goal,” Swiatek said.

“It’s the first time I’ve faced a situation like that, to ‌get into the finals.

“It’s a challenge, but I feel like it’s a positive one and I’m really motivated. There are still a few tournaments ahead.”

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