A Champions League semi-final is an event that deserves the best conditions possible - but as anyone from Manchester can tell you, the city’s famous weather has a mind of its own.
Manchester City welcomed Paris Saint-Germain for the second leg of their Champions League semi-final on Tuesday night, with the Etihad Stadium pitch usually in excellent condition.
However, a furious onslaught of hailstones rained down on the ground ahead of kick-off, leaving groundtaff working double-time to clear the debris from the turf ahead of the 8pm BST kick-off.
As City players took to the pitch just ahead of kick-off, the groundstaff were still shovelling hailstones off the pitch. City staff were able to clear the key areas - the pitch lines and six-yard boxes - but the rest of the pitch remained speckled with white to paint a bizarre picture in early May.
When asked by BT Sport about the ‘welcome to Manchester’ weather, Guardiola saw the funny side, saying: “Don’t worry, now the sun will rise!
“This time normally, at 7-7:15pm, the sun rises in the city.”
