What. A. Win. After what has been a hellish three weeks or so for Man City fans, the players returned to action against Liverpool at Anfield. A tough place to go at the best of times (although that's two consecutive wins there for the Blue boys now) but especially after the tirade of abuse we've had since the Premier League announced its verdict.
Look, the first hour of that game didn't make for the greatest viewing for fans of either side. Liverpool had the better of it, just. It's fair to say the game changed after Ryan Gravenberch was sent off for two yellow cards. There's a lot of debate about whether the first should've been given, I actually think it was a definite yellow, he stands on Elliot Anderson's toe as the City midfielder is breaking away.
Regardless, when you're on a yellow you need to be careful. Gravenberch wasn't. Sees red. City run away with it. Lovely stuff.
I'll be honest, I've found it difficult to write about City the last couple of weeks. I can barely leave my house without someone saying something about the charges. I've just been smiling and nodding, occasionally responding with 'we're innocent!'. Everyone's got something to say, most of it nonsense. I've just got a little bit sick of hearing about it.
But today! Today has reinvigorated me! For the players to perform in front of that Anfield crowd with much of the football world watching on with disdain was something really special. The so-called Anfield roar wasn't actually that bad. A few boos here and there, a few 'cheeeaaaaats' and that was about it. Our away fans certainly gave back more than they received. Oh, that 'Anfield roar' that usually sing 'You'll Never Walk Alone' before kick off and then you don't hear a peep from them (I know our Etihad crowd are hardly raucous but the Anfield fallacy is something that annoys me).
In all seriousness, there's nothing that the players can do other than perform on the pitch. And that's exactly what they did today.
The charges and guilty verdict do weigh heavy. The potential punishments do weigh heavy. The uncertainty of what might happen weighs heavy. We don't know when this is going to end, we don't know when the outcome of the appeal will be revealed. It could go on for years again.
But in the meantime, all we can do is play our games and win our games. And that's exactly what we're doing.
"You're getting mauled by the cheaters!" Love it, Blues!
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