Manchester City is a contrast.
The Premier League club enters its Sunday, Oct. 11 matchup with Liverpool on top of the league, having won all of its first five matches – plus earning wins in the UEFA Champions League and the League Cup.
Yet, the Citizens' world came crashing down during the international break, with the Premier League finding the club guilty of more than 100 charges of breaking financial rules
between 2009-10 through 2017-18So where do things stand? Here are the answers to a few lingering questions:
What did Manchester City do?
An independent committee found the club guilty of 114 out of 115 charges related to breaking financial rules and hampering the subsequent investigation.
After financial rules went into place to prohibit clubs from losing a certain amount
more than they earned, Manchester City is alleged to have inflated its revenues and covered up the extent of some of its losses.
The infractions range from sham contracts with sponsors, signing deals with commercial partners when the club's owners, the Abu Dhabi United Group, were actually putting in their own money, to lying about who was covering costs or how much those costs were.
The commission also found that key members of the Manchester City setup presented false evidence at the hearings.
Is Manchester City still playing in the Premier League?
For now, City plays on in all the competitions which it usually takes part, be it the Premier League, the UEFA Champions League or England's cup tournaments.
There has been speculation Man City might be punished with relegation or another penalty that would see it stop playing in the Premier League, but the most likely outcome would see it at least complete this season – even if a points deduction is put into place that makes it difficult or impossible to stay in the top division.
When will Manchester City be punished after the guilty verdicts?
The club has filed an appeal, triggering a process that could conclude before the holidays but may take until early February to wrap up.
Whether the appeal is successful – which manager Enzo Maresca claimed this week is still the outcome the club expects – or rejected will determine what happens next.
Commentators and fans have suggested punishments ranging from stripping trophies to relegations to heavy fines, with the door also potentially open for other Premier League clubs to take legal action if they claim City's rule-breaking kept them from achieving their full potential – on the field or financially.
There is no required punishment to be passed down, but there clearly would be stiff action taken if the appeal is not successful.
Until then, the contrast will continue, with City playing on and, likely, continuing to enjoy the success on the field of a well-built team competing at the highest levels yet with a potentially crippling punishment looming over the club.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: What did Manchester City do? Financial investigation, guilty verdicts explained
