They have never seen anything like it. Mancunians stood in awe last night at what their leaders called an �unprecedented� invasion. Glasgow Rangers had arrived. Tens of thousands of them. (Video: Fans in buoyant mood leaving Glasgow)

DAVID LEASK and GERRY BRAIDEN

Click here to see our panoramic view of the Fans in Manchester today

Uefa cup final blog: "Who is the world's biggest bluenose?"

They have never seen anything like it. Mancunians stood in awe last night at what their leaders called an "unprecedented" invasion. Glasgow Rangers had arrived. Tens of thousands of them.

Authorities declined to guess how many fans had descended upon them. Today, they reckon the population of Manchester will jump by one-fifth. And all of the new blood will be blue.

"We will cope," said a city spokeswoman said. Estimates of the economic bonanza from the fans were blown, said one official, "into the stratosphere".

Thousands pitched tents at a rugby club in nearby Cheshire. Tens of thousands found hotel rooms across the north of England. Hardy hundreds are expected to sleep rough.

One fan from Australia will celebrate the match rather than his daughter's fifth birthday. Another, from Ayrshire, cancelled an urgent operation.

John Smeaton, hero of the Glasgow Airport terror attack, believes his side can match the great party their Old Firm rivals enjoyed when they got to the Uefa cup final in 2003.

All the fans share one burning desire: to beat Zenit St Petersburg. But they are also determined not to let a mere defeat spoil their party.