Emptihad strikes again! Over 20,000 seats left empty for Manchester City's Champions League rout
The famous Emptihad nickname has suddenly returned to the spotlight.
Details: Manchester City's Champions League clash with AEK Athens produced an extraordinary attendance figure. Only 40,042 spectators were officially recorded at the Etihad Stadium, which now holds just over 61,000 fans following its expansion.
That means more than 20,000 seats were unoccupied during the European fixture, with large sections of empty sky-blue seats clearly visible around the stadium. The scenes quickly attracted attention, particularly because rival supporters have long used the mocking Emptihad nickname when discussing City's home attendances.
The sparse crowd did not affect the hosts on the pitch. Manchester City cruised to a 5-1 victory, with Phil Foden producing the standout performance by scoring a hat-trick. Elliot Anderson and Rayan Cherki were also on the scoresheet, while Stavros Pilios scored AEK's only goal.
The attendance was especially striking compared with City's other major home fixtures this season. More than 60,000 supporters had attended their previous Premier League and Champions League home matches, while around 32,000 were present for September's League Cup tie against Norwich.
It is worth noting that the match against AEK was Manchester City's 150th appearance in the Champions League, but almost 21,000 available seats were left unused for the milestone occasion.
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Steven Perez
Dailysports's expert
