MANCHESTER, England (AP) — Manchester City played in front of rows of empty seats as fans stayed away from the Champions League clash against AEK Athens on Tuesday.
A well-below capacity crowd attended City's 5-1 win, with swathes of empty rows visible inside the newly-expanded 61,000-seater Etihad Stadium.
The official attendance was not immediately revealed by City or European soccer's governing body UEFA.
The low turnout was a surprise given City fans have been in defiant mood since the club was found guilty of widespread financial wrongdoing, which could see it face a range of punishments including a huge fine, points deduction or even expulsion from the Premier League.
More than 60,000 attended City's last Champions League game against Paris Saint-Germain, when the embattled club put on a pre-match fireworks show and a highlights reel of its greatest moments on the stadium’s big screens in what could be interpreted as a defiant response to the ruling, which it has appealed.
Fans have turned up with inflatable bananas, resurrecting a craze from the 1980s long before it became the dominant force in English soccer via the backing of its Emerati ownership. But there were few on show on this occasion.
Perhaps the low turnout reflected the fact it was City's third home game in less than a week, following matches against PSG and Ipswich.
Those who did stay away missed another slick performance from Enzo Maresca's team, which tops the Premier League and quickly bounced back from defeat to PSG with another win in the Champions League.
Phil Foden scored a hat trick, with Elliot Anderson and Rayan Cherki also on target.
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James Robson is at https://x.com/jamesalanrobson
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