Fans evacuated from Etihad Stadium prior to Manchester City's UCL clash against Club Brugge due to fire near stand

Fans have been evacuated from the Etihad Stadium ahead of Manchester City's match against Club Brugge. Both sides are set to face off in their final Champions League group-stage clash, and the stakes are high.

In an unfortunate incident, fans who had gone into the stadium ahead of the match had to be evacuated. It was a merchandise stall near the Colin Bell Stand in the stadium that caught fire, due to a gas canister. While the fire brigade showed up to handle the flames, fans were evacuated from the stadium.

The statement from the club on social media revealed as much:

"Manchester City FC can confirm that there has been a fire in one of the outside merchandise kiosks, located near the entrance to the Colin Bell West Stand. Emergency services are present at the scene and the fire has now been extinguished."

However, events that were planned ahead of the match will no longer take place, with the statement continuing:

"The safety of all attending the match tonight is our top priority, and as such all events planned for West Stand reception have been cancelled, including the welcome event for new players, and the first team arrival."

Here is a video of the fire:

It is a serious day for the Mancunian giants, who are on the verge of falling out of the UEFA Champions League in the group stage.

This season, they have won just twice in the competition, beating Slovan Bratislava and Sparta Prague. A 0-0 draw against Inter Milan and a 3-3 draw against Feyenoord have not helped their chances. Manchester City also faltered with three losses - against Sporting CP, Juventus, and recently, Paris Saint-Germain.

This has pushed Manchester City just outside the play-off spots, and they will need to beat Club Brugge in this final game if they are to stay in the competition.

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Pep Guardiola on the verge of personal record if Manchester City crash out of group stage

Pep Guardiola is on the verge of creating an unwanted personal record if Manchester City crash out of the Champions League group stage. The manager has never experienced a group-stage exit in the competition across his managerial career.

When asked about his thoughts on such a situation, Guardiola refused to discuss it, instead explaining in his pre-match press conference (via Chron):

“Of course it would be not good, but I am not thinking about that right now. I appreciate all of your concern... but I'm thinking we are going to do it.”

Man City have not been knocked out of the UEFA Champions League group stage since the 2012-13 season.