Nottingham Guardian - Man City captain Dias defends celebrations after Liverpool win

City were jeered throughout by Liverpool fans during a 3-0 win at Anfield last weekend that left them top of the Premier League table, three points clear of reigning champions Arsenal, with six wins from six matches.

It was City's first game since being found guilty of more than 100 charges relating to breaches of the English top-flight's financial fair-play rules.

City have appealed the verdict, with every match featuring the team now played under a huge cloud of uncertainty.

Enzo Maresca's men will be back in European action on Wednesday when they are at home to holders Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League.

Both clubs are bankrolled by wealthy owners from the Gulf, with City backed by the ruling family of Abu Dhabi while PSG are financed by the Qatari state.

"I really feel like I speak for the whole group, we trust the club," insisted Dias, despite City being found guilty of 34 charges of failing to cooperate with the league's investigation.

"We're very calm and we're very focused on enjoying football. We know the team we've got, we want to make the most out of it, we want to win, and that's the only thing in our mind."

The Portugal defender added: "If there's more or less noise or whatever the reason the noise is, at the end of the day it's all the same, same as before, because people don't love us winning and we love to win."

City's punishment was announced during the international break, when many of their players were away from the Etihad.

"When it broke we felt like we should have a conversation as soon as we got back," said Dias. "We did so just for everyone to be on the same page and to be clear about our peace of mind and we moved on.

"Obviously, it happened in a moment when we were not together but we quickly reached out to each other and quickly we found calm and we progressed forward."

O.F.MacGillivray--NG