It was another night to file away and forget about as Manchester City succumbed to a 2-0 loss at the hands of Thiago Motta’s Juventus in the Champions League on Wednesday evening – and away fans, despite their eagerness to leave, were forced to stay inside the Allianz Arena.
Juventus marksman Dusan Vlahovic was on target in the 53rd minute after he scrambled in his side’s first of the affair before Weston McKennie doubled their cushion 22 minutes later as they saw out a momentous result on home soil.
Once again this season, the Premier League outfit – who won Europe’s top tier competition for the first time in 2022/23 – were not at the races, leaving the travelling fans frustrated with their performance against a side sitting sixth in Serie A.
Pep Guardiola, bemused by Ilkay Gundogan's remarks in the process, spoke well of his players after the game, insisting they stuck to the game plan but did struggle to break down the stubborn nature of the Old Lady:
“Italian teams defend so deep they are so compact, they are the master of these situations. Even with that we played like who we are. We missed the result, but the performance is there."
But now having lost seven – as many defeats as they had suffered in their previous 105 outings – of their last 10 matches, a chunk of the 2,000 supporters that made the trip from Manchester to Turin attempted to leave the game early.
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With the score poised at 2-0 and the clock ticking ever so close to the full-time whistle, plenty of the away contingent attempted to sneak away, into the comfort of their hotels, but they were ultimately prevented by the stewards.
ESPN’s Mark Ogden, who was present for the Old Lady’s 2-0 win, wrote on X (formerly Twitter): “Man City fans trying to leave the Juventus Stadium have just been told over loudspeaker that they have to stay until they’re allowed out. Brutal."
The reason why Manchester City fans were unable to leave early is because it is common practice for those in the away section to be kept back after the final whistle in a combined effort to lower the possibility of fan trouble.
Particularly for games played in Italy, chiefs are keen to crack down on disturbances involving spectators. Ensuring that the unspoken rule is adhered to and respective fan bases leave at separate times is pivotal to this.
Up next for the eight-time Premier League champions is a test against Ruben Amorim’s Manchester United as the two lock horns at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday afternoon. It’ll make for interesting viewing given it’s a must-win fixture for both managers.