Courtesy: X

Courtesy: X

A fire erupted at a merchandise stand outside the Etihad Stadium a couple of hours before Manchester City were slated to kick-off their UEFA Champions League (UCL) match against Club Brugge on Wednesday, January 29. As the fans were gathered at the kiosk near the main entrance of the stadium prior to 6:00 PM, to see a presentation of the club’s January signings on stage, the fire started from nowhere, catching everyone by surprise.

It led to the Manchester City signings event getting halted before the stewards and security staff evacuated the people from the area, allowing the fire department to extinguish the fire near the Colin Bell West Stand entrance at the Etihad Stadium. More than an hour after the incident, Manchester City took to their official X account to confirm that the UCL match against Club Brugge will begin as initially scheduled at 8:00 PM.

Watch the video here:

Manchester City to play against either Real Madrid or Bayern Munich in UCL play-off

During the must-win UEFA Champions League clash, Manchester City went down a goal in the 45th minute as Raphael Onyedika gave Club Brugge the lead. But, in the second half, the former UCL champions mounted an excellent fightback with Mateo Kovacic scoring an equaliser in the 53rd minute, followed by an own goal from Joel Ordonex in the 62nd minute before Savinho sealed the eventual 3-1 win with a goal in the 77th minute.

In the post-match interview, Pep Guardiola, the manager of Manchester City, addressed the fire before the contest, and said, as per BBC Sport, “When I saw the fire before the game I thought 'the journalists have their headlines already'.” Moreover, he also talked about the fighting spirit of his players, and remarked, “We were on the verge, 45 minutes from being out. It is an incredible lesson for me, the club that nothing is (taken) for granted.”