Fire breaks out at Etihad Stadium hours before Man City's Champions League clash
A fire has broken out outside of the Etihad Stadium just hours before Manchester City were due to kick off their final Champions league clash against Club Brugge
A fire broke out outside the Etihad Stadium.
Manchester City are due to clash with Club Brugge in the Champions League on Wednesday evening. Pep Guardiola's side need to win to stay in the European competiton after collapsing in Paris last week.
However, a fire broke outside the stadium a couple of hours before kick off, with the footage being shared on X. One user, posting the video, said: "A fire has broken out at the Etihad Stadium as Man City’s new players are welcomed on stage."
"A fire has broken out outside the Etihad just before new signings Marmous, Khusanov and Reis were about to be unveiled to fans," a second said.
The incident happened outside of City's West Stand.
Emergency services were quick to the scene to tackle the blaze and quickly contain it, according to reports. Manchester Evening News' Simon Bajkowski posted on X: "Fire out but people being moved away."
Before he added: "There’s smoke in the concourse as well, so may be some time before fans are allowed in." However, 20 mins after the fire had broken out, fans were shuffled back into the West Reception.
A City statement read: "Manchester City FC can confirm that there has been a fire in one of the outside merchandise kiosks, located near the entrance to the Colin Bell West Stand.
"Emergency services are present at the scene and the fire has now been extinguished.
"The safety of all attending the match tonight is our top priority, and as such all events planned for West Stand reception have been cancelled, including the welcome event for new players, and the first team arrival."
City need to win on Wednesday evening if they harbour hopes of advancing into the latter stages of the competition.
Pep Guardiola's side have struggled in Europe this season, and they head into the clash with Belgian side outside of the play-off spots. However, a win will see them leapfrog Club Brugge and advance into the play-offs at their expense.
This season, in Europe, City started out with a draw with Inter Milan and wins over Slovan Bratislava and Sparta Prague. But they have since only registered a draw with Feyenoord - where they threw away a three goal lead.
And there have been defeats at the hands of Sporting CP, Juventus and PSG.