Erling Haaland gave photographers a double thumbs up as he arrived at the City Football Academy after midday, following Enzo Maresca through the gates a few hours earlier. The manager had been first in shortly after 9:30am, offering his own enthusiastic gesture to those waiting. It was the squad's first return to training since the international break, and the first since the Premier League's independent commission delivered its verdict last month.
That verdict adjudged City to have committed serious breaches of the Premier League's financial rules between 2009 and 2018. A statement from the top-flight indicated the club had artificially inflated commercial revenue by approximately £830 million during that period. City have lodged a 'comprehensive' appeal, insisting on their innocence and pointing to an 'irrefutable body of evidence' they believe will clear the club's name. Over two weeks on, the matter remains unresolved.
Before training resumed, it had been reported that Maresca was lining up a collective meeting with his players to address the off-field matters of the past three weeks. The details of that meeting have not been revealed. The expectation is that the 46-year-old would insist the focus stays firmly on the competitive task at hand.
That task is the pursuit of the Premier League title and the extension of a seven-game winning streak established during the opening weeks of the campaign. Andoni Iraola's Liverpool are next, with the visit to Anfield on Sunday afternoon expected to bring a hostile environment as opposition fans get their first opportunity to react to the Premier League's decision.
Merseyside Police have already said they are prepared for the welcome of City's team bus, aware of Liverpool fans arranging a 'Bus Greeting' around two hours before kick-off. Local authorities will be on high alert given the 2018 attack on the City coach ahead of a Champions League meeting between the clubs, when Liverpool fans caused thousands of pounds worth of damage.
So the week begins with a thumbs-up and a police briefing. The football, for now, is the easy part.