Manchester City fans mocked for 'Emptihad' during West Ham encounter

Manchester City cruised past West Ham United 2-0 in a Premier League match at the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday. Rodri opened the sheet in the 30th minute and Kevin de Bruyne scored the final goal of the match in the 62nd minute.

Meanwhile, City cut Liverpool's lead at the top of the table to 22 points. For the last few days, the pressure has been high on the Sky Blues. Hopefully, the victory would boost their morale.

Meanwhile, City supporters didn't welcome UEFA's recent decision to ban the club from all European competitions for the next two seasons. The defending Premier League champions were also handed a fine of €30 million. The Etihad Stadium saw club enthusiasts carrying banners of protest against the European football authorities.

In the meantime, Manchester City followers were mocked on Twitter. The term "Emptihad" was being shared online, with images that show large swathes of the Etihad Stadium featuring empty seats. Consequently, football fans cracked old jokes that the Man City fans are "plastic," and their support for the club was non-existent before the 2008 takeover.

The Twitterverse didn't stop there, as they started combining those jokes with the club's recent European ban. One of the twitter users joked that City should be worried about their fan attendance levels in the Premier League, and what could happen if they are demoted to League Two.

One possible reason for the empty stands is that City's clash against West Ham was a rearranged midweek fixture. The picture of empty stands might not have even appeared if the original schedule wasn't postponed because of Storm Ciara. Fans couldn't have prepared for this possibility and maybe they prioritised attending some of the bigger games. West Ham is currently lingering in the relegation zone. As a result, fans might not have taken this game seriously..

City's performance in the match was impressive, even if they didn't put in too much effort. With 78% possession, Pep Guardiola's men didn't let the visitors snatch the ball often. Raheem Sterling was absent while Sergio Agüero remained quiet. Kevin De Bruyne stood out of the crowd because of such a low-intensity contest.