'We know the sacrifice' - Man City players pay thousands to personally refund fans who travelled to Norway for shocking Bodo/Glimt loss in Champions League

Pep Guardiola's side were hoping to bounce back from their 2-0 defeat to rivals Manchester United in the Premier League on Saturday when they made the trip to Norway to face Bodo/Glimt, who play on an artificial pitch and in freezing temperatures. However, last season's Europa League semi-finalists flexed their European muscle once again with another scalp, defeating City 3-1 quite handedly.

A quick-fire double from Kasper Hogh midway through the first half ensured Bodo/Glimt went into the break two goals to the good. Jens Petter Hauge added a third on the other side of half-time, and though Rayan Cherki pulled one back for City, they saw skipper Rodri sent off soon after for two bookings inside a minute to effectively end their hopes of a comeback.

374 City supporters were in attendance for the defeat at the Aspmyra Stadion, and the club's captains - Bernardo Silva, Ruben Dias, Erling Haaland and Rodri - have agreed to pay back £9,357 in total to cover the costs of their trips for such a miserable evening of football.

A statement from the City quartet read: "Our supporters mean everything to us.

"We know the sacrifice that our fans make when they travel across the world to support us home and away and we will never take it for granted. They are the best fans in the world.

"We also recognise that it was a lot of travelling for the fans who supported us in the freezing cold throughout a difficult evening for us on the pitch. Covering the cost of these tickets for the fans who travelled to Bodo is the least we can do."

Kevin Parker of City's Official Supporters Club praised this response, claiming it highlighted the special 'relationship' between the team's fans and players. "Manchester City fans will travel to the ends of the earth to support our team, and last night was on different in the Arctic Circle. Bodo is not an easy place to get to, and the sub zero temperatures made it a challenging evening on a number of levels for our fans," he said.

"The City support has an incredible connection with the players on a matchday, and this gesture is yet another reminder of that relationship - it means a lot to us. We know that the players are disappointed with the defeat to Bodo, but with our next game at home on Saturday there's a chance to get back to winning ways and out fans will be in full voice, backing the team as they always do."

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Star striker Haaland, who is without a goal from open play in his last eight matches, fronted for the cameras immediately after the defeat on Tuesday night. "I don't have the answers. I take full responsibility of not being able to score the goals I should do. I just apologise to everyone; every single Man City supporter and every single supporter that traveled today, because in the end it's embarrassing," he said to TNT Sports.

"Bodo, they played some incredible football and in the end it's deserved. Honestly, I don't know what to say because I don't have the answers, and what I can say is sorry."

Had City won at Bodo/Glimt, they would have climbed to second place in the Champions League standings for at least 24 hours, but have instead dropped to seventh and could end this round of fixtures outside the automatic qualification spots. They host Galatasaray next week knowing they must win to stand a chance of finishing in the top eight.

Before that, they welcome bottom club Wolves to the Etihad Stadium in a Premier League encounter on Saturday. City can close the gap on leaders Arsenal to four points prior to the Gunners' meeting with Michael Carrick's new-look United.