Man City Champions League clash stopped as protesters suddenly storm pitch

Manchester City's Champions League match with Galatasaray was stopped as protestors stormed the pitch. Pep Guardiola's side were 2-0 up when the incident occurred and were on course to qualify automatically for the last 16, which they ultimately achieved.

The on-field officials had to stop the play when several protestors made their way on to the Etihad Stadium pitch, waving flags around. Security had to round up the protestors and take them off the pitch not long after the second half had restarted.

The protestors waved Kurdistan flags above their heads before being escorted off the field of play.

City were in a commanding position to qualify in a top-eight position, given their Champions League rivals were struggling elsewhere, and they eventually made it through.

Erling Haaland scored the opener for the Premier League outfit after a brilliant through ball from Jeremy Doku in the 11th minute.

Rayan Cherki added a second after some good play from Doku again down the left-hand side of the pitch.

The winger cut the ball back into the path of the French playmaker, who made no mistake from just inside the 18-yard box just before the half-hour mark.

It's unclear precisely why the protestors invaded the pitch, but protests in Iraqi Kurdistan have been taking place against the Syrian government since last month.

Chief Superintendent Colette Rose, GMP's Gold commander for Wednesday's game, said: “Big European football nights in Manchester are always an exciting occasion but can be dynamic and challenging. On Wednesday night we had significant resources out in the city to ensure thousands of supporters safely got to and from the game.

"We made seven arrests during the game: three were in relation to pitch encroachment, three