“I think it was a very very boring match,” he began. Peter Schmeichel – historic former goalkeeper of Manchester United and Denmark – as a correspondent for CBS Sports Goal at the Etihad last night in Manchester City’s Champions League opener against Inter. To justify this reaction, the 60-year-old former Aston Villa player continued by basing his reaction on the stadium effect that was absent yesterday. A rather cold environment, as Hakan Calhanoglu also noted yesterday.
“Because I love beautiful football and I love excitement, but the crowd was dead. I mean the Etihad tonight (last night, ed.) was absolutely dead. There was no atmosphere today (yesterday, ed.), and normally you think these are the big nights in Europe.” Micah Richards, former Manchester City right-back, was somewhat resentful: “You’re disrespecting my club,” he said, smiling wryly. But Schmeichel’s response was not lacking: “Sometimes you get out of the studio and experience it live.”