Several hiccups have slowed Bundesliga club Bayer Leverkusen on their way to their Champions League clash away at Manchester City. Initially, baggage issues caused delays. When the plane carrying the crew is on the runway, it must return to the gate. The reason, according to the announcement on the plane: there is uncertainty whether all the luggage is on board, because there is a difference in the weight of the plane.
Once the problem is resolved and the aircraft is ready to take off, the drag of the aircraft to push the aircraft backwards from its initial parking position is lost. Instead of around 4 p.m. as planned, Bayer’s plane finally left for England almost an hour and a half late.
Problems even after landing
But even after landing Manchester there are difficulties. Nearly an hour passed before the first passengers were able to leave the plane. Since the machine was parked outside, we had to wait for the bus first. Finally we walked towards the terminal which was only a few meters away. Also taking part are Bayer U19s, who will play City’s youth team in the UEFA Youth League on Tuesday afternoon.
As a result, the press conference scheduled for 6 p.m. local time in Manchester with coach Kasper Hjulmand and player Aleix García can no longer be adhered to. On Tuesday evening (9pm/DAZN), Werkself will play the fifth matchday of the league phase at Manchester City Stadium against star coach Pep Guardiola’s team, who are still unbeaten in the first class.
“It’s unusual, but things like that just happen,” Hjulmand said at a news conference that started two hours late. But it will have no impact on the game, stressed the Dane when asked. “We will be ready to play at kick-off.” Garcia explained, half in English: “It was strange. I didn’t know exactly what was going on. The worst part was waiting for hours. Today was a long journey.”
© dpa-infocom, dpa:251124-930-335464/4
