USUALLY when the Champions League rolls into town, fans are queueing up desperate to get tickets, unless you are Manchester City.
In fact, the Etihad outfit confirmed the attendance for their 5-1 thrashing of AEK Athens was 40,042 – over 20,000 less than the ground’s capacity.
Fans who did turn out on a cold Tuesday evening were able to see Phil Foden run riot with a hat-trick.
Meanwhile, there was also Elliot Anderson‘s first Champions League goal and a Rayan Cherki sweetener to satiate the appetite of Enzo Maresca‘s goal gluttons.
But unfortunately, that great display was only played out in front of a stadium two-thirds full.
Footage captured inside the ground laid bare the extent of the empty seats, with much of the upper stadium showing the club’s blue colours rather than a sea of fans cheering on the team.
In fairness, many may not have wanted to brave the cold and spend their hard-earned cash on a wet Tuesday night for a fixture as inconsequential as AEK Athens in the league phase of the Champions League. There is also the fact that City don’t have the best relationship with Uefa given past sanctions, so bear a grudge against the normally illustrious tournament, usually shown in the form of boos that ring around the stadium during the anthem, though City do certainly pack it out in the knockouts.
But fans seeing the images on social media were stunned and couldn’t help but poke fun at the previous stereotype of the club being unable to fill their seats.
One said: “This is a Champions League game ladies & gents.” A second said: “Crazy how empty it is . . .”
A third added: “Yet we’re all still meant to believe they rival Real Madrid on revenue.”
Another said: “It’s the Emptyhad.”
Despite some fans being MIA, City boss Maresca wasn’t worried. He told reporters after the game: “I think the ones in the stadium were good. The last game against Ipswich they were top.
“And next week two games against Brighton and I’ve no doubt the environment will be good again.”
City are top of the Premier League with a 100 per cent winning record, and have only suffered defeat against the defending two-time European Champions, Paris Saint-Germain.
However, the club have the looming worry of potential punishments following the guilty verdict by an Independent Commission on the investigation into alleged Premier League financial breaches. City were found guilty on over 100 charges, including all the financial irregularities they were accused of.
They strongly deny any wrongdoing and have appealed the decision. It’s been suggested the club could receive a record-breaking fine and points penalty if the appeal fails. – Sun
