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7 Clubs Who Are Better at Filling Out Wembley Than Manchester City

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90 Min
Publish date:
Apr 7, 2019

Manchester City's FA Cup semi final victory over Brighton on Saturday was another triumph for Pep Guardiola's side in their quest for the quadruple, but it was not one that the club's fans turned out in full force to witness.

It was far from a vintage performance from the Citizens, as Gabriel Jesus' strike on the fourth minute was enough for the Premier League champions to scrape through to the final, and it was a performance which reflected the limited turnout from City supporters at Wembley.

City were forced to send 2,000 tickets back to the Football Association ahead of the game after failing to sell out their 30,000 allocation at the national stadium. The club sold just over 80% of their tickets.

With City having failed to sell out their full allocation for Saturday's semi final, here is a list of seven clubs who are better at filling out Wembley than the Citizens.

Sunderland

The Checkatrade Trophy final between Portsmouth and Sunderland in March set a new attendance record for the EFL Trophy, as 85,021 saw a thrilling 2-2 draw played out between the two - the biggest crowd in the competition's history.

Portsmouth went on to win the game 5-4 on penalties, after Nathan Thompson cancelled out Aiden McGeady's opener to force the game into extra time. Sunderland were unfortunate to suffer defeat, and the League One club's fans deserve great credit for an impressive turnout.

Barcelona

Many may have travelled overseas for the occasion, and Barcelona's International Champions Cup clash against Liverpool in August 2016 may have been a friendly clash, but the game still drew a crowd of 89,845,

Of course, many of the Barcelona contingent may have been more local to Wembley than Catalonia, but the La Liga giants' involvement was surely a huge draw for the huge crowd, which was the second largest in the history of the new Wembley.

Liverpool

The Liverpool supporters in attendance would have enjoyed their trip to Wembley far more on that occasion than their Barcelona counterparts, with the Reds supporters clearly enjoying the opportunity to fill the national stadium having failed to lift a trophy at Wembley since 1995.

Reds supporters were treated to an appearance from former hero Javier Mascherano, who turned out for Barcelona during the friendly clash. More to the Reds' delight, the Argentine scored an own goal, helping his former side on course to their 4-0 victory.

Cardiff

The record attendance at the new Wembley remains the 89,874 that turned out to see the FA Cup Final between Portsmouth and Cardiff in 2008.

Harry Redknapp's Portsmouth won the game 1-0, courtesy of a first half strike from Arsenal hero Nwankwo Kanu, but Cardiff fans were out in force hoping to see their side win a second FA Cup, having previously won the competition in 1927.

cardiff-football-fans-pose-during-the-fa-5caa0f728b7d99196d000003.jpg — IAN KINGTON/GettyImages

Cardiff were also bidding to become the first club from outside the top division to win the FA Cup since West Ham in 1980, though they were beaten by a then-Premier League Portsmouth side.

Portsmouth

Portsmouth recently returned to Wembley with aplomb for their Checkatrade Trophy success, but their FA Cup win of 2008 remains one of the club's greatest days and the largest attendance in the history of the new Wembley.

Pompey have since been relegated down to League One, but their ability to fill out the national stadium remains up there with the best in the country.

West Ham & Bolton

Portsmouth may have established themselves as the attendance kings at the new Wembley, but West Ham and Bolton fans blew the new era's record away when an attendance of 126,047 was recorded for the FA Cup final between the two sides in 1923.

Bolton won the occasion 2-0 courtesy of strikes from David Jack and Jack Smith, but it was the huge attendance which sets the game out as a history maker. 126,047 was the officially recorded turnout, but it is said that the crowd could in fact have exceeded 300,000 at the old Wembley.