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Manchester City's game against Galatasaray in the Champions League was briefly halted by protesters storming the pitch in the second half. Pep Guardiola's side were leading by two goals at the time of the stoppage, with Erling Haaland and Rayan Cherki scoring before the break. Shortly after the restart, play was interrupted at the Etihad Stadium when several people ran onto the pitch.

The match was paused for just under two minutes as security raced onto the playing surface to deal with the incident. It wasn't shown on television, with the cameras cutting away as the players stood around waiting for the pitch to be cleared. At least one protester was seen carrying the flag of Kurdistan as he was hauled away by stewards.

Footage on social media showed two protesters making their way to the centre circle, before stewards were able to tackle them and take them off the pitch. Once the matter had been dealt with, the game was able to continue.

City went into the fixture needing to win and other results to go their way to stand any chance of finishing in the top eight.

Before facing Galatasaray, they had lost two of their seven league phase matches and were left scrapping with a number of other teams for a place in the knockout stages.

They enjoyed a dream start, with Haaland chipping into the net to break his goal drought and give the hosts an early advantage. Cherki doubled City's lead on the half-hour mark, slamming the ball home from close range.

Teams finishing in the top eight go straight through to the round of 16, while those placed between ninth and 16th are forced to battle it out in the play-offs.

Speaking ahead of the match, City boss Guardiola said: "I prefer to have more [points] but it is what we deserve. We need to focus and try to win our game then see what position we finish.

"We'll see the result in the last 10 minutes and then we will see [what we have to do]. We have to focus on our game, that's the key. We will try to win tomorrow. Galatasaray is leading the Turkish league and all their players are exceptional.

"The quality they have. [Victor] Osimhen is a top-class player. They link with him. Leroy [Sane] and both wingers are so quick. Gundo [Ilkay Gundogan], [Mario] Lemina are experienced players.

"Galatasaray are one of the biggest clubs and they always have good players. We have to make an incredible effort with our fans. Every culture is different. Never we face against Turkish teams away. I would love to go there.

"We went for an historic night but I would love to go to Galatasaray, Fenerbahce, Besiktas. What I expect is people come tomorrow and support us."

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