Manchester City captain Ruben Dias stated on Tuesday that 'people don't like it when we win, and we like to win,' thereby firmly defending his club's boisterous celebrations after the triumph over Liverpool, despite the team being found guilty of several Premier League financial rule violations.
Last weekend, City defeated Liverpool 3-0 at Anfield. This victory allowed the team to take first place in the Premier League table, three points ahead of reigning champions Arsenal, with six wins in six matches.
This match was City's first game after the club was found guilty of over 100 charges related to breaches of financial fair play rules in the top English division. City appealed this decision, and now every match takes place in an atmosphere of great uncertainty.
Enzo Maresca's team will return to European competitions on Wednesday when they play at home against title holders Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League. Both clubs are financed by wealthy owners from the Gulf: City is supported by the ruling family of Abu Dhabi, and PSG by the state of Qatar.
Dias emphasized that despite City being found guilty of 34 charges regarding unwillingness to cooperate with the league's investigation, he speaks on behalf of the entire group: 'We trust the club.'
The Portuguese defender added: 'Regardless of what noise there is or what the reason for that noise is, ultimately everything is the same as before, because people don't like it when we win, and we like to win.'
'City' faced criticism for excessively exuberant celebrations of the victory over Liverpool, who played with a ten-man squad. However, City manager Enzo Maresca, without apologizing, stated: 'What are we criticized for? We won 3-0 at Anfield. What do you want us to do? Even if the score was 1-0, it would be exactly the same.'
He continued: 'We work every day to win matches. That is the only thing we can think about and focus on.'
Dias supported Maresca, noting: 'Winning at Anfield under any circumstances, whether at the beginning or end of the season, we will enjoy equally. We will celebrate how we feel at the moment, and that obviously shows how much it means to us.'
Maresca also noted that the consequences of the indictments were harder for City fans than for his squad. He said: 'Perhaps it was harder for our fans than for the players or for me.' He explained that the situation is complicated because if he were an Arsenal or United fan, he could say: 'My friend, you are a cheat,' but for City fans, it is more difficult.
Maresca also commented on the upcoming match: 'The message for tomorrow evening is quite simple, from a game perspective, because they (PSG) are the best team in Europe right now.' He added that since PSG has won the Champions League twice, it demonstrates their high class, and they need to play perfectly, while doing everything possible, believing they can win and will be happy in the end.
Former City coach Pep Guardiola plans to attend the match on Wednesday. This will be his first visit to the Etihad since leaving at the end of last season. The Spaniard has already publicly supported his former club in the current crisis. Maresca reported: 'I spoke with Pep after the Manchester United match. If he comes, it's a pleasant feeling—especially for him, because it was his home for 10 years, thanks to what he did here. It excites everyone.'