Inflatable fruit and a jeered anthem as City supporters answer the guilty verdict at the Etihad

The story

Manchester City's first home league game since the guilty verdict turned into a show of defiance from the stands. Before kickoff against Ipswich, the Premier League anthem was met with loud boos from the home crowd. The stands were also full of yellow. Supporters brought back inflatable bananas, a craze from the late 1980s and 1990s when City were stuck in the lower divisions and playing at Maine Road. The fruit first reappeared in the away end at Liverpool last weekend, and manager Enzo Maresca said on Friday he hoped to see plenty of them at the Etihad. He got his wish. The supporters group behind the idea also unfurled a banner in the South Stand showing a famous TV character in a City hat and scarf making a rude gesture. The group said fans would respond in their own way and did not need outsiders telling them how to feel. City have appealed the ruling. On the pitch the win kept their perfect start under Maresca going and moved them six points clear at the top of the table.