Enzo Maresca has hit back at criticism of Manchester City's celebrations at Anfield on Sunday by saying: "What do you want us to do?"
City won 3-0 against Liverpool in their first game since the club were found guilty of breaching the Premier League's financial rules, a verdict they have appealed.
Maresca and his players have faced criticism for their celebrations at the final whistle given the anger being directed at the club. But the Italian has defended their right to react to results in any way they want.
"We won 3-0 at Anfield, what do you want us to do?" Maresca said at a news conference on Tuesday.
Enzo Maresca has defended his players' right to celebrate. Getty "Even if it was 1-0, it would be exactly the same. We work every day to win games. It's the only thing that we can think of. The rest is just things from outside that we need to deal with, but we were so happy inside the pitch and you cannot imagine inside the changing room."
City captain Rúben Dias was part of the celebrations at Anfield and insisted the players should be allowed to show their emotions after games despite the ongoing legal process with the Premier League.
"I very much stand by the manager's words," Dias said.
"I think we will enjoy it just as much and celebrate however it feels in the moment. It will be a show of how much it means to us."
Despite City's uncertain future, Dias said the players are "calm" and "trust the club" after they launched a formal appeal against the judgement of the independent commission.
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Maresca insists it's been easy to keep the squad focused and believes it's been harder for the fans to deal with than the players and staff. City play their first home game since the guilty verdict on Tuesday when reigning European champions Paris Saint-Germain arrive at the Etihad Stadium.
"Probably it has been more tough for our fans than for the players or for me because it's more complicated," Maresca said.
"If I am an Arsenal fan or United fan and you are a City fan I say 'hey, my friend you cheat.' So it is probably more tough for them, but we were happy inside the changing room. We were very happy celebrating the three points because it is very difficult at Anfield."