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Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola stunned everyone on Tuesday when he was spotted in the stands at Edgeley Park to catch a League One fixture between Stockport County and Port Vale.
Guardiola's curiosity about England's third tier isn't entirely surprising—the Spanish tactician has a well-known fondness for English football, particularly the rawness of the lower divisions, noting that visits to lower league grounds over the years have given him some of his "most enjoyable memories." Stockport is also a town within Greater Manchester, making it easily reachable even for the Premier League manager who has admitted he rarely finds time to watch other sides play.
What truly left people scratching their heads was that Guardiola's outing coincided precisely with a historic clash between the two finest clubs in the world right now—Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich—who were locked in a record-breaking Champions League semifinal first leg that had the rest of the globe riveted to their screens.
On Friday, Guardiola offered a hilarious explanation for opting for the Stockport match over the breathtaking 5–4 thriller that saw defending champions PSG leave Parc des Princes with a narrow edge over the German giants.
Guardiola's Response to Missing Champions League Semifinals First Leg
❌ Champions League
✅ League One
Pep Guardiola's at Edgeley Park to watch Stockport County against Port Vale 👀 pic.twitter.com/5T7Gro1aQx
"The day before, I looked at the calendar and saw PSG versus Bayern Munich, and I said 'Bleh! What a disaster game,'" Guardiola told reporters with a sarcastic grin. "Managers are not good, [PSG's] Luis [Enrique] and [Bayern's] Vincent [Kompany]. Really, really s--- players."
Guardiola and Enrique share a deep, longstanding bond, having played alongside each other at Barcelona from 1996 to 2001. Kompany, meanwhile, served as a player and captain under Guardiola at City between 2016 and 2019, claiming six trophies during that spell. Kompany has been vocal about his admiration for Guardiola's methods, even calling him "the best coach I ever had."
Man City had the week off—hence Guardiola's unexpected appearance—after being knocked out of the Champions League last month, with their next Premier League fixture not until Monday, when they take on Everton at Hill Dickinson Stadium.
With only five league games remaining, the Cityzens are in the final stretch of the Premier League title race, hot on the heels of Arsenal, who lead by three points, after City briefly seized top spot with a 1–0 victory over Burnley last week.
Whether Guardiola will tune in for the second leg of the Champions League semifinal between PSG and Bayern is yet to be seen, with the two powerhouses set to meet again on Wednesday at Allianz Arena for what promises to be another enthralling encounter.