Match Officials: João Pinheiro to referee Manchester City vs Bayer Leverkusen | OneFootball

A largely Portuguese team of match officials will oversee proceedings between Manchester City and Bayer Leverkusen on Tuesday night.

Pep Guardiola and his players will be aiming to bounce back immediately to their latest defeat, which came at the hands of Eddie Howe in the Premier League for the very first time under Pep Guardiola on Saturday evening.

A frustrating encounter at St James’ Park saw Newcastle United take the lead twice in the contest, and both times through Harvey Barnes to overcome an equaliser from Manchester City’s Ruben Dias.

That defeat leaves City seven points behind the leaders Arsenal – who convincingly defeated Tottenham – at the top of the Premier League table, and a solitary point behind Chelsea, who now sit in second place in the division after their victory over Burnley.

Manchester City’s European adventure is looking far stronger, as they find themselves on the verge of automatic qualification for the last-16 of the competition, having won three and drawn one of their opening matches in this season’s league phase.

It was also German opposition the last time City were in action in the Champions League, as the iconic Borussia Dortmund were dismissed by a 4-1 scoreline at the Etihad Stadium, in a Player of the Match showing from Phil Foden in particular.

Ahead of the meeting between Manchester City and Bayer Leverkusen, UEFA have now announced the list of match officials to oversee proceedings at the Etihad Stadium!

Match Referee

UEFA have confirmed this week that 37-year-old Portuguese referee João Pinheiro will oversee proceedings between Manchester City and Bayer Leverkusen at the Etihad Stadium on Tuesday night.

The Vila Nova de Famalicão-born official has so far overseen 11 matches across competitions this season, with three of those coming in the UEFA Champions League and the qualification round of the competition.

Across all competitions, Pinheiro has issued a total of 51 yellow cards, three straight red cards, and awarded three penalties in the process, with matches coming in the Portuguese League, UEFA Super Cup, and King’s Cup, in additions to his Champions League outings.

Pinheiro has only come across Manchester City as an on-field official once in his career, overseeing Pep Guardiola’s side in the 2023/24 season and a 3-1 home win over Red Star Belgrade in the Group Stage format of the competition.

Assistant Referees

Accompanying Joao Pinheiro at the Etihad Stadium this week will be fellow Portuguese officials in Bruno Jesus and Luciano Maia, appointed into the roles of assistant referees for the contest.

Video Assistant Referees

Looking over Manchester City against Bayer Leverkusen from the VAR Hub on Tuesday night will be Portuguese referee Tiago Martins in the position of Video Assistant Referee, while France’s Willy Delajod will be the Assistant Video Assistant Referee.

Fourth Official

Completing an all-Portuguese team of match officials on the ground at the Etihad Stadium will be the appointed fourth official for the contest João Gonçalves, standing between Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City dugout, and that of Bayer Leverkusen’s Kasper Hjulmand.