Manchester City delivered a statement performance in the Champions League on Tuesday night, brushing aside AEK Athens 5-1, but the scoreline was almost an afterthought by full time.
The story of the evening, instead, was the sight of row upon row of empty blue seats inside a stadium built to hold more fans than ever showed up.
The official attendance was recorded at 40,042 — more than 20,000 short of the newly expanded Etihad’s capacity of 61,038. For a club that prides itself on its European pedigree, the sparse crowd prompted another round of the “Emptihad” jibes that have followed City on and off since their treble-winning run in 2023.
Enzo Maresca speaks on the ground two-thirds full
The gulf between Tuesday’s crowd and recent fixtures was stark. The turnout did better than last month’s Carabao Cup victory over Championship side Norwich, but it arrived only days after City had set a stadium attendance record of 60,817 for their Premier League win over Ipswich.
That record-breaking night drew barely a mention online; Tuesday’s half-empty stands dominated the conversation instead.
Asked directly about the turnout in his post-match press conference, head coach Enzo Maresca refused to be drawn into criticism of the supporters who did make the trip.
He said: “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.”
It was a measured response from a manager more focused on his side’s response on the pitch than the optics in the stands. And City’s players certainly delivered that response.
The win marked a second Champions League league-phase victory for the club this season and came as a pointed reply to the disappointing 4-2 home defeat to Paris Saint-Germain a fortnight earlier.
Foden leads the response on the pitch
If there was a statement to be made against AEK, Phil Foden made it personally. The 26-year-old marked his return with a hat-trick under the Etihad floodlights, underlining the qualities that have long made him one of Maresca’s most trusted attacking options.
Elliot Anderson and Rayan Cherki were also on the scoresheet as City cut through a limited AEK side with relative ease.
There was a notable academy flavour to the performance too. Rico Lewis set up a couple of the goals, while fellow homegrown player Ryan McAidoo provided the assist for Cherki’s strike
Context matters in explaining Tuesday’s numbers. This was City’s third home fixture in just six days, and under the Champions League’s newly expanded league-phase format, clubs face four guaranteed home matches, with the possibility of four more in the knockout rounds.
Against that congested backdrop, a midweek visit from Greek champions AEK Athens was never likely to be the most attractive ticket on the calendar, particularly for supporters already stretched thin by cost and scheduling.
