Pep Guardiola attends EFL League One contest in surprise appearance after FA Cup success

Lewis Henderson
Wed, 29 Apr 2026 09:49:43 +0000

Pep Guardiola has made a surprise appearance at a clash between Stockport County and Port Vale in League One.

The contest, which has little riding on it with Stockport all but guaranteed play-offs and Vale already relegated, captured the attention of the Spaniard just a few days after his side's FA Cup success.

Guardiola missed a thriller in Europe to watch the third-division contest, with PSG playing Bayern Munich in a Champions League classic that ended 5-4.

Vale won the match 2-1 with first-half goals from Martin Sherif and Jordan Lawrence-Gabriel.

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Odin Bailey scored for the hosts in the second half, but they failed to make a comeback.

The former Bayern boss missed a stunner from his ex-team, who played out a nine-goal thriller in Paris.

It was the highest-scoring semi-final in Champions League history and the joint-most goals in a semi-final, including the European Cup era, with Rangers 3-6 Eintracht Frankfurt in 1959/60.

The Germans took the lead when Harry Kane converted a penalty after Luis Diaz was fouled by William Pacho, marking his 58th goal of a remarkable season.

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Doing so, the England captain also made his own history - taking a record off Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard.

PSG responded brilliantly. Khvicha Kvaratskhelia received the ball on the left, cut onto his right foot, and curled a stunning shot into the far corner.

Joao Neves nodded the hosts ahead with a glancing header from a corner.

Michael Olise, who had been tormenting defenders all evening, restored parity with a stunning strike after dancing past several opponents.

The drama unfolded deep into first-half stoppage time when Alphonso Davies was penalised for handball after a cross from Dembele struck his arm.

Swiss official Sandro Scharer reviewed the play on the monitor and awarded a penalty, which Dembele confidently converted, bringing the score to 3-2 at halftime.

The second period somehow managed to match the first for sheer entertainment.

PSG looked to have killed off the tie when Kvaratskhelia guided home his second of the night after being left unmarked at the far post from Achraf Hakimi's delivery.

Dembele then made it 5-2, finishing smartly at the near post to give the hosts a commanding three-goal cushion.

But Bayern, already Bundesliga champions and chasing a treble, refused to lie down.

Dayot Upamecano flicked in from a Joshua Kimmich free-kick before Kane played a sublime pass for Diaz to finish into the far corner – a goal that survived an offside review.

The single-goal advantage means everything is still to play for when these two meet again in Munich on Wednesday, May 6.