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.
“For me it’s quite easy. 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 tough. It was hard, but we showed amazing character from back to front. So proud of everyone.
“It’s always tough to come here. If you look at the record it’s tough. With the Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp era it was tough for both teams, always has been. It was important to stay strong mentally, stick together and do what you can do something about. The thing we can do something about is to play good football and fight together. That’s the only thing we can do.”
City have appealed against the verdict, but until the dust settles and final decisions are made, this Premier League season is in a holding pattern.
When City come to Anfield and win, especially as convincingly as they did here, it should be a win without qualification or questions.
This does not apply amid the current uncertainty.
Every victory, every league table, will come with a metaphorical asterisk until clarity and finality comes. No-one knows when this will be.