“Glazers, Sheikh Mansour, all autocrats out!" - Bayern Munich fans unfurl banner with strong message in UCL loss to Manchester City
Bayern Munich fans unfurled a banner opposing Manchester United and Manchester City owners in their 3-0 defeat to City at the Etihad on Tuesday (April 11).
Thomas Tuchel's Bavarians were beaten convincingly by City in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League quarterfinal. A Rodri rocket, Bernardo Silva's fine header and Erling Haaland's 45th goal of the season secured a superb victory for the hosts.
However, Bayern fans displayed a banner that lambasted the ownership of both Manchester clubs during the second half of the clash between the European heavyweights. It read:
“Glazers, Sheikh Mansour, all autocrats out! Football belongs to the fans.”
A second banner was also then displayed at the final whistle of the encounter at the Etihad:
“Sheikh Mansour out.”
Bayern fans have made their voices heard over several issues concerning English football. They did so earlier in the season by brandishing a banner about the UK government postponing games to complicate the fixture schedule:
“Last-minute match delays and bans because of a royal’s death?! Respect fans."
Bavarian fans are one of the biggest advocates for the 50+1 rule which is described by the Bundesliga on their website as:
"The need for members of a club to hold 50 percent, plus one more vote, of voting rights."
Manchester City's ownership has been criticised since Sheikh Mansour's Abu Dhabi United Group purchased the club in 2008. It has coincided with an era of dominance in English football for the Cityzens. However, City were charged in February for breaking Financial Fairplay rules during the period 2009 to 2018.
Meanwhile, Manchester United's owners, the Glazers, have also been slammed regularly but for different reasons. They placed an initial debt of £550 million on the Old Trafford club when sealing a takeover in 2005. The American family are listening to offers from the club regarding a potential change in ownership.
Former Manchester United midfielder Owen Hargreaves lauds Manchester City's defence in Bayern win
Manchester City's superb win over Bayern has been applauded by fans and experts as they swept aside one of Europe's elite.
However, it was Pep Guardiola's side's defending that impressed Owen Hargreaves. The former Manchester United and City midfielder gave a glowing assessment of City's defending on the night, telling BT Sport:
"That is how you win this competition. Defensively, that was a completely different City. Flawless."
City defenders John Stones, Manuel Akanji, Ruben Dias and Nathan Ake shone as they nullified the threat posed by Kingsley Coman, Leroy Sane and Jamal Musiala. Guardiola has used a new system recently, moving Stones into midfield when his side are in possession, and they are reaping the rewards.
The Cityzens travel to the Allianz Arena for the second leg on April 19. It will be intriguing to see how Guardiola sets up his team for that clash, with his team having one foot in the last four.