LONDON • Borussia Monchengladbach's sporting director, Max Eberl, went into the away end before the match on Wednesday night to personally thank the 300 fans who had stayed an extra day in Manchester to support their team.

He also wrote a letter, a copy of which was given to each Monchengladbach fan as they entered the Etihad Stadium for the rearranged match against Manchester City, explaining to the fans' employers why they were returning from England a day later than planned.

The letter read: "Unfortunately, your employee (insert name) cannot appear at work on Thursday as he is in Manchester to fulfil the important duty of supporting Monchengladbach in the Champions League. We thank you for accepting his apology to stay away for one day."

Tuesday's game was postponed by 24 hours after torrential rain, with referee Bjorn Kuipers calling off the game 20 minutes before kick-off.

Though 1,600 Monchengladbach supporters made the trip to England, less than a quarter were able to stay for the rearranged fixture, with most booked on flights back to Germany on Wednesday morning.

THE TIMES, LONDON