And City’s shock exit at the hands of Liverpool last season appeared to have an effect, with swathes of empty seats at the Etihad for tonight’s defeat against Lyon.
Pep Guardiola watched from the stands as his side slumped to a 2-1 defeat in their opening Champions League group stage game.
And the result meant it was four European defeats in a row for the suspended boss, whose side are ironically the bookies’ favourite for this season’s title.
City were dumped out of the tournament in the quarter-finals by Liverpool last season.
They lost the first leg at Anfield 3-0 before suffering a 2-1 defeat at home.
City had also lost the home leg of their last-16 tie against Basel by the same scoreline.
And Lyon’s victory on Wednesday evening also meant it was three consecutive home defeats in Europe for City – all with the same result.
Another big talking point was the amount of empty seats on show during the game, with some City fans apparently preferring to watch from the comfort of their armchair.
The Premier League champions will be hoping for more support at their next European home game against Shakhtar Donetsk in early November.
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