Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola defends fans' right to boo Champions League anthem but calls for more support at next home match

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Pep Guardiola defended the right of Manchester City fans to boo the Champions League anthem after they once again made their feelings known towards UEFA before the victory over Shakhtar Donetsk.

City supporters have held a grudge against European football's governing body about the way their club has been treated over a number of issues, resulting in a contentious disciplinary charge two years ago.

News last month that City will no longer face action if fans continue to jeer the anthem in protest appears to have made little difference judging by the way they tried to drown it out again on Tuesday night.

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has defended the fans who booed the anthem

Champions League football returned to the Etihad Stadium on Tuesday night

City supporters have not always felt they have been treated well by UEFA over the years

But Guardiola said: 'It's a democracy so people can express what they want. What I want is to play well and the people who came here can enjoy again. Hopefully the next games in the Champions League more people can come here to support us.

'There are a lot of moments in the Champions League when the supporters will help us a lot, and the best way to convince them is to play well. Then people will come to the Etihad Stadium to watch the team because they enjoy it.'

If there's one thing you're sure to hear at the Etihad on nights like this besides the Champions League anthem, it's the chorus of boos from City fans that accompanies it.

Some City fans still struggle to embrace this competition despite the significant strides made by their team in Europe in recent seasons. It means that Champions League nights at the Etihad can be curious affairs and this was no different. 

Some fans again opted to boo the Champions League anthem with the two sides lining up

Pep Guardiola opted to make two changes to the side which beat Crystal Palace last Saturday

Kevin de Bruyne bends in the opening goal of the evening after 48 minutes at the Etihad

A City team that has been practically unstoppable in the Premier League and their opening Group F tie against Feyenoord in Rotterdam were stretched more than expected by the Ukrainians of Shakhtar Donetsk.

Kevin De Bruyne, Leroy Sane and Raheem Sterling missed chances they would normally take in the Premier League as Guardiola's side struggled to reproduce their imperious domestic form.

The beauty of City these days is they have the individual brilliance to get them out of a hole. De Bruyne's goal was exquisite and Sterling's persistence paid off with a well-taken second.

It's why City should have little trouble now reaching the knockout stage of the Champions League for the fifth year in a row. Just don't expect all their fans to fall in love with the competition or the people who run it.

The Belgian playmaker scored his first goal of the season with a superb effort into the corner

City had chances to kill off the game after De Bruyne's opener with Rakeem Sterling a culprit

Raheem Sterling stroked in City's second of the night in second-half stoppage time

The former Liverpool winger was picked out by Bernardo Silva for a simple tap-in late on