Wednesday night saw Manchester City kick-start their Champions League campaign away to Sevilla at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan stadium.
After reaching the final and the semi-finals in the previous two seasons, Pep Guardiola’s men appear to be in search of a way to cross the final threshold in the quest for a maiden title.
Having tried to win the competition with a variety of squads while at City, perhaps this year could belong to the Citizens.
The arrival of Erling Haaland in the summer seems to be the final piece of the puzzle for Pep to once again taste European success.
The Norwegian who already has 10 goals in the Premier League notched a brace in his debut UCL game for City against Sevilla.
Armed with such a prolific goal scorer up-front, the English side were simply too good for Julen Lopetegui’s men as City put on a show to walk out 4-0 winners.
While the confident performance from Pep’s men surely places them as a favourite for the trophy yet again this season, the style of play was not the only thing that dazzled football fans watching on.
As Sevilla are accustomed to wearing a white home kit, as per UEFA regulations City were not allowed to match their blue home shirt with the accompanying white shorts.
Instead, they resorted to sporting maroon shorts which is a part of the club’s away goalkeeper kit.
Not just Pep’s side but City’s youth team also had to shift to this temporary kit as they squared off against Sevilla’s youth contingent.
While this has been an unexpected change in plans, the result seems to have been an immense hit amongst the footballing community.
At first glance, it seems to resemble the claret and blue combination, a pairing all too well known in the Premier League as it is used by West Ham, Burnley and Aston Villa.
But the unofficial kit also has a direct connection with City’s own roots as the club famously used to sport the same combo in the 90s, back in the days of players such as Colin Hendry.
City fans have hence, rediscovered images of the kit being worn by the Scotsman, a club legend who played for them a decade before the arrival of Alfie Haaland.
Now worn by Alfie’s son Erling, it looks like supporters are now petitioning for the pairing to remain as City’s first choice home strip.
Following Pep’s remodelling of City with the backing of Sheik Mansour, much criticism was sent their way for straying away from City’s roots.
But although it came to be by accident, it looks like the Manchester side has been able to trace back to the club’s history by sporting a classic combination to enthral supporters worldwide.