Manchester City's postponed Champions League group match against Borussia Monchengladbach has been rescheduled to Wednesday at 19:45 BST. Heavy rain, thunder and lightning hit Manchester on Tuesday evening, forcing the Group C match to be abandoned because of adverse weather. In a statement, City said localised flooding led to a decision being made on "safety and security grounds". Tickets bought for the scheduled Tuesday match will still be valid. The Bundesliga side wanted the kick-off to be at 18:00 BST, but City did not have the available stewards to facilitate the request. Heavy rain saturated the pitch at Etihad Stadium in the two hours before the game was called off.  City also had their pre-season friendly against neighbours United called off in China because of adverse weather

A meeting was held on Tuesday to decide when the match should be played On Tuesday night, the goalmouth at one end was heavily waterlogged at one stage, while services were stopped on Manchester's tram network. Referee Bjorn Kuipers and officials inspected the surface at about 18:55 BST and a decision to postpone was communicated about 30 minutes later. In Prestbury, Greater Manchester, 32.4mm of rain fell in an hour, which meteorologist Mark Wilson described as "pretty exceptional". Following the announcement, Monchengladbach's players walked out to applaud their fans Manchester City tweeted a number a pictures of the downpour before the scheduled kick-off

 

Analysis

BBC Sport's Simon Stone at Etihad Stadium. "Manchester City's fans were told the Champions League tie with Borussia Monchengladbach had been called off before their players. "It is understood the stadium safety officer decided the torrential thunderstorms around Etihad Stadium meant the area was unfit for the game to take place. "This information was immediately relayed over the sound system at 19:25 BST to the supporters - including a large number of visitors - who greeted it with whistles and boos, even though the pitch was saturated. "The announcement came as a surprise to members of the City hierarchy, and manager Pep Guardiola and his squad, who were waiting to discover whether they needed to go out and prepare for the game."