Guardiola Calls Man City Fans Out for Poor Stadium Attendance, Supporters Hit Back

• Guardiola was discontent with the attendance of the home crowd for the Champions League clash against Leipzig
• City ran out 6-3 winners but the game was watched by only 30 000 fans
• General secretary of City’s official supporters’ club hit back at Guardiola for the coach’s comments as he urged the Spaniard to ‘stick to coaching’

Manchester City fans have responded to Pep Guardiola after the gaffer urged full support for the club’s next home game in the Premier League against Southampton.

City were in rampant form on Wednesday, September 15 as they ran out 6-3 winners against Leipzig in Group A of the Champions League but one blooper in an otherwise delightful night was the fact that the Etihad was not full capacity.

The 6-3 win was attended by a crowd of 38000 fans, something which Guardiola was very critical about post-match.

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This was especially irritating for Guardiola because the Etihad can hold up to 54,000 fans.

“I would like more people to come to the next game on Saturday,” Guardiola told BT Sport.

“We will need the people next Saturday, please, because we will be tired. I invite all our people to come next Saturday, 3pm, and watch the game.”

In truth, City have often struggled to fill out stadiums, especially for their midweek fixtures.

In 2018, for their opening group match against Lyon, only 40,000 fans were in attendance, and the situation was worse two years prior when only 30,270 fans attended the opener against Borussia Monchengladbach

Man City fans hit back at Guardiola

Sections of Manchester City fans, however, did not appreciate Guardiola’s plea to have more fans attend the team’s home games.

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According to Manchester Evening news, Kevin Parker, the general secretary of City’s official supporters’ club, called out Guardiola for what he feels was a move which inflamed the question of fans which was not a dire issue in the first place.

“I’m not sure what that’s got to do with him,” Parker started.

"He doesn’t understand the difficulties that some people might have getting to a game at the Etihad on a Wednesday evening at 8pm. They’ve got kids to think of, they might not be able to afford it, there are still some Covid issues about … I don’t see why he comments on it.”

“He’s absolutely the best coach in the world but, in the nicest possible way, I think maybe he should stick to that. It just takes the edge off what was a good night. People are talking more about Pep’s comments than a fantastic game,” Parker went on.

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City face Southampton in the Premier League on Saturday as they aim to make it four wins out of their opening five games.

Pochettino wants PSG star trio to improve

Elsewhere, PSG boss Mauricio Pochettino as adamant his side needed to improve after a 1-1 draw against Club Brugge in their opening Champions League game.

Despite starting a potent attack comprising Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe and Neymar, the Parisians could only muster a draw as they struggled to break down the home side

PSG are second on the table with two points behind current table-toppers Manchester City

Source: Briefly News