Man City fans stay away from 5-1 Champions League rout of AEK Athens
Manchester City has played in front of thousands of empty seats as fans stayed away from the Champions League clash against AEK Athens. A crowd of 40,042 attended City鈥檚 5-1 win with swathes of empty rows visible inside the newly-expanded 61,000-seater Etihad Stadium. The lowest attendance for a City home game this season is around 32,000 for the English League Cup match against second-division Norwich last month.
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.
Background: how the league phase works
The Champions League format introduced in 2024/25 puts 36 clubs in a single league table. Each club plays eight different opponents, with four matches at home and four away. A win earns three points and a draw earns one. Because teams face different opponents, a single result does not tell the whole story of a club's position.
The top eight advance directly to the round of 16. Teams finishing ninth to 24th enter a two-legged knockout play-off; those finishing 25th or lower are eliminated. When following a match report, distinguish the result from its effect on qualification: that depends on the wider table and the fixtures still to come.
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Sources and context
ApnewsSource headline and summary supplied via NewsData.io. First collected by NewsJaws on 2026-10-21. This is an automated news brief, not original NewsJaws reporting. Dates reflect the source publication. Feed delays may apply.