Fans silenced as City get it wrong with gameplan against United

IT'S normally towards the end of a game, with an insurmountable lead, before the Poznan comes out among City fans. It happened before kick-off against United, such was the confidence among the Blues contingent at Wembley.

- JOE BRAY

The pre-match build-up had pitted both sets of fans against each other, encouraging City to sing a couple of their club anthems and even one anti-United chant.

So when the teams were announced, fans needed no second invitation to mock their rivals and turned their backs on United en-masse.

Almost every City fan joined in the pre-match Poznan as Erik ten Hag's side was named one by one.

It certainly got the Blues fans in the mood and contributed to a thunderous atmosphere at kick-off, even the club banners declaring 'four in a row' and 'champions again, ole, ole' looked the part.

United sought to remind the Blues of their own history with a flag depicting all of their silverware won as a club, and their fans wasted no opportunity to call City 'cheats!

And then the game kicked off.

The City end was loud until their side conceded, by which time it was United's turn to make the noise.

There were choruses of Blue Moon and other chants to rally their side, but it's fair to say the West end of Wembley was as stunned as the players in a shambolic first half.

Josko Gvardiol had been so assured in the run-in that he had kept out Nathan Ake, John Stones, Ruben Dias and now Manu Akanji in the last two months.