Man City change midweek preparations due to Young Boys' plastic pitch

10/23/2023 Soccer

Man City change Champions League preparations due to Young Boys’ plastic pitch and will train on Tuesday night in Switzerland – after Man United’s Luke Shaw slammed the ‘dangerous’ artificial surface

  • Young Boys’ plastic pitch at Wankdorf Stadium has come under much criticism
  • Manchester City will train there on Tuesday night to get to grips with the surface 
  • Listen to the latest episode of Mail Sport’s podcast ‘It’s All Kicking Off!’ 

Manchester City have changed their preparation for Wednesday’s Champions League clash with Young Boys because of the Wankdorf Stadium’s plastic pitch.

Pep Guardiola’s side usually train at the City Football Academy before flying to away matches, rather than taking advantage of the home team’s facilities the night before a game.

But the artificial surface out in Switzerland has seen Guardiola decide that his players require a session on it when they arrive on Tuesday evening.

Young Boys beat Manchester United in the group stage two years ago, with the pitch heavily criticised by Luke Shaw, while Ole Gunnar Solskjaer blamed an Aaron Wan-Bissaka red card on the turf.

‘No excuses, we lost the game,’ Shaw said. ‘But for the Champions League, these pitches, they shouldn’t be possible. It’s dangerous. It’s hard to turn on.’

Manchester City have changed their preparation for Wednesday’s Champions League clash with Young Boys – and will now train in Switzerland when they arrive on Tuesday evening

The Wankdorf Stadium’s plastic pitch (above) has come under much criticism in recent years

Jose Mourinho also took aim at the pitch after beating the Swiss side while United manager back in 2018. Mourinho had declined to comment on it before the victory but later said: ‘I don’t understand how you can play the best club competition on an artificial pitch.

‘Some probably fear injuries. I had some players after training yesterday – light training – and they were feeling ankles, back pains, sore.

‘It’s not easy, especially not for people who are not adapted to it. Also a little bit of a fear in the duels.’

City’s altered plans should mean an earlier flight out of Manchester. Inclement weather meant they were delayed reaching Leipzig earlier this month.

Your browser does not support iframes.

Luke Shaw heavily criticised the stadium’s pitch two years ago, describing it as ‘dangerous’ 

Jose Mourinho also blasted the surface in 2018 during his time as Manchester United manager

IT’S ALL KICKING OFF! 

It’s All Kicking Off is an exciting new podcast from Mail Sport that promises a different take on Premier League football, launching with a preview show today and every week this season.

It is available on MailOnline, Mail+, YouTube , Apple Music and Spotify

Your browser does not support iframes.


Source: Read Full Article