Man City rout AEK Athens 5-1 in Champions League amid fan absence

Manchester City played in front of thousands of empty seats as fans stayed away from the Champions League clash against AEK Athens.

A well-below capacity crowd of 40,042 attended City's 5-1 win, with swathes of empty rows visible inside the newly-expanded 61,000-seater Etihad Stadium.

The lowest attendance for a City home game this season is around 32,000 for the English League Cup match against second-division Norwich last month.

All other home matches this season have had attendances of 60,000-plus.

"I think the ones that were in the stadium, they were good," City coach Enzo Maresca said.

"In the last game against Ipswich they were top, and now we have next week two games at home against Brighton and I have no doubt that the environment will be top again." The low turnout was a surprise given City fans have been in defiant mood since the club was found guilty of widespread financial wrongdoing, which could see it face a range of punishments including a huge fine, points deductio