Manchester City have spent the last two weeks surrounded by a lot of noise. On Sunday at Anfield, City boss Enzo Maresca told his players the best way to drown it out was by making even more of their own.
City did just that with a defiant 3-0 victory over Liverpool that preserved their perfect Premier League start for a three-point lead atop the table.
In their first game since an independent commission found the club guilty of 114 breaches of the league's financial rules, City were met by deafening boos and angry chants but left Anfield with their own supporters providing the soundtrack.
It was exactly the response Maresca had demanded from his players.
"We need to learn how to deal with the outside noise because of the situation, and the noise will be always there," Maresca said. "But at the same time, we need to try to make our noise, and that is win games, like we have done today, because at the end of the game, our fans, they were singing, so the noise was from us, not from Liverpool."
The Italian knows the hostility is unlikely to disappear, with Sunday's reception at Anfield a sign of what awaits City on their travels as they await the outcome of their appeal against the financial-rule verdict.
"I think (at) all the away games there's going to be noise," said Maresca, who wrapped his coaching staff in a huge hug at the final whistle before he and the players made a beeline for the away fans section to celebrate.
"That's why I'm saying that we need to learn how to deal with noise, but at the same time we need to make our noise. Our noise is: who is singing at the end? This has to be our target in this moment."
City's response on the pitch matched one of defiance off it. The club's chief executive Ferran Soriano and director of football Hugo Viana travelled with the team to Anfield, a show of unity ahead of one of the most daunting fixtures on the calendar even in less turbulent times.
"We were all together," Maresca said. "I think for the importance of the game, Liverpool away, Anfield away, it's a good idea from the club to be all together, the togetherness that in this moment we need."
The manager said the players had found the last fortnight difficult, but praised the way they had shut out the turmoil and concentrated on football.
City struggled in the first half but took full control after Liverpool's Ryan Gravenberch was shown a red card in the 62nd minute, with Erling Haaland, Jeremy Doku and Rayan Cherki scoring.
"It was not easy for the players after the last two weeks," he said. "I think they dealt with all the situation very well.
"In this moment, all the organization needs this kind of win like today," he added. "It's good for us coaching staff. It's good for the players. It's good for the fans. It's good for the organization."
City have denied all wrongdoing and have appealed the decision. As for what comes next in their legal battle, Maresca was just as direct.
"I'm here to try to prepare for the games and win games," he said. "I've said many times: hopefully, I can speak about this situation when we win the appeal."
For now, City's answer to the hostility: not to quieten the racket, but to drown it out with the sounds of victory.
