The charges cover the seasons between 2009-10 and 2017-18. The fixture list sent City to the ground of the fans who feel the sharpest sense of injustice. Liverpool finished second to City in 2013-14, 2018-19 and 2021-22, and their argument is that those titles could have been theirs without the money of City's Abu Dhabi-based owners.
The Anfield crowd arrived high on adrenaline and determined to show its contempt. City answered with composure. Once the early noise faded, they showed they were not unnerved by the ground or the storm around the club, and they outclassed the home side.
The result keeps City three points clear at the top of the table. On another day, that kind of display would read as a performance of champions. Not this time. BBC Sport's Phil McNulty argues the circumstances drained the occasion of any sense of jeopardy, because City now await potential sanctions that include relegation from the Premier League.
City celebrated wildly at the final whistle, and the season around them still has no clear answer on what any of it counts for.