Boos, bananas and a six‑point lead: City’s defiant day at Etihad
Manchester City’s supporters opened the match by booing the Premier League anthem and finished it with Phil Foden brandishing an inflatable banana during his Match of the Day interview after the team beat Ipswich and moved six points clear at the top of the table.
The atmosphere at the Etihad on Saturday was one of open defiance. Thousands of fans jeered the anthem that played before kick‑off and quickly turned their chants to “City, City, City”. A few moments later they sang a mocking line about “you’re going down with the City” aimed at the travelling Ipswich supporters, while another chant referenced a possible away game at Stockport.
Enzo Maresca, who became the first Premier League manager to win his first seven matches in charge, said he sensed the defiant mood even before the whistle. “The environment was very good,” the Italian said after a crowd of 60,817 – a record attendance for the Etihad – watched the victory. “The fans, the club and the players are all together on this journey.”
City’s supporters arrived to find hundreds of bright yellow inflatable bananas placed on the seats in the home sections. The novelty, reminiscent of a fan craze from the late 1980s, turned the stadium into a sea of yellow. The bananas had appeared in the away end at Liverpool the week before, but this time they dominated the Etihad.
The inflatable bananas have resurfaced as the club fights an appeal after being found guilty of breaching Premier League financial rules between the 2009‑10 and 2017‑18 seasons and of creating sham contracts that inflated sponsorship deals by £830 million. At one point on Saturday, fans jeered the anthem while waving the bananas overhead.
Phil Foden, back in the side after serving a suspension for a red card against Manchester United on 13 September, said the fans gave the team an extra lift. “You can tell they are behind us and they’re pushing us,” he told reporters after scoring the opening goal in the 19th minute – his first of 2026. “It’s nice to play at home and you can hear how loud they are. They’re giving us that extra boost that we need.”
Maresca, who succeeded Pep Guardiola after a decade that produced 20 trophies, noted that the team has yet to drop a point in the league. “I didn’t expect to win seven out of seven,” he admitted. “We are working well and I’m very happy, especially with the situation in general. We controlled the game for 95 minutes, created chances and scored. We finished with a little bit of suffering together but overall it is good.”
On Foden’s return, Maresca added: “I said from day one that I love Phil. I know him from years ago and I know how good he is. It’s a matter of helping him to again be one of the best players in the Premier League.”
City’s start to the campaign is the best in 129 years. Only Chelsea in 2005‑06 (first nine games) and Liverpool in 2019‑20 (first eight games) have ever begun a Premier League season with seven straight wins, and both went on to claim the title. “First of all, I am very happy because it’s a matter of winning games in this business,” Maresca said after the match. “We were able to win seven in a row and what made me very happy was day by day with the players, the way they are working and how I can see them improving. Today I thought we controlled the game, created chances and were good off the ball. We are doing well and I think that’s the most important thing.”
When asked about the off‑field turmoil, Maresca said his players were not worried about external judgment. “They know people are trying to judge them, but inside I promise the players are happy. They’re getting credit and I give credit to them,” he concluded.