How Chelsea delayed Manchester City victory parade as fans win fantastic prizes at Star Live Arena
After both sides had booked their places in the final of the UEFA Champions League – the third all-English final – football fans were eager to see a preview of what the final would look like when Manchester City hosted Chelsea in a Matchday 35 game at the Etihad Stadium.
Both teams had different but nonetheless compelling motivation for wanting to win the game. While Chelsea were hoping to strengthen their spot in the top four with a win, the Citizens were hoping to be crowned Premier League champions – their 5th in 10 years – at the expense of one of their fiercest rivals.
And, for the enthusiastic fans at the Star Live Arena in Lagos and Makurdi, it was an opportunity to win fantastic prizes from Nigerian Breweries apart from the quality football game on display.
A few days before the match, Star Lager Beer had announced trivias on their social media pages, helping to build anticipation about the game, while giving fans opportunities to win the numerous prizes lined up for the game.
The trivias which featured simple football quizzes tasked fans with sharing their answers online in hopes of being selected as winners.
Before kickoff, fans engaged in the usual pre-game registration for the raffle draws and match predictions, stating their expectations from the game, possible score lines and goalscorers. Once that was done, everyone settled in for the match and the refreshments started to roll.
As has been the tradition from the very first Star Live Arena outing, fans had the delight of ice-cold Star Lager from kickoff, ensuring that the game had no dull moment.
Man City started brightly and led at half-time via Raheem Sterling’s goal and despite a penalty miss by Sergio Aguero.
At the interval, the first raffle draw of the night was done and prizes such as generator set and standing fan prizes were awarded to their gifts winners before fans the restart of the game.
While giving out the prizes, Sarah Agha, Portfolio Manager, National Premium Brands for Nigeria Breweries expressed delight at Star Lager’s ability to create such fun moments for their consumers.
In her words: “this is what makes the Star Live Arena special, we reward our consumers’ love for football with quality match viewing, gifts and extra fun.”
Back to the game, Chelsea evened scores in the 63rd minute through Hakim Ziyech’s equaliser to increase the tempo of the game and the banter level at the Star Live Arena. The excitement and fun came to a climax when Marcos Alonso scored in the 92nd minute to ensure that Manchester City victory was delayed until another day.
The frenzy created from the late equalizer was further increased when the next raffle draw was done and a refrigerator was awarded to one lucky fan.
So far, Star Lager Beer has taken the Star Live Arena excitement to six cities including Jos, Enugu and Abeokuta.
