MANCHESTER, England — For 75 minutes Tuesday night, Manchester City were cruising against Feyenoord And going Liverpool Sunday with a much-needed confidence injection after five consecutive defeats. By the time manager Pep Guardiola walked down the tunnel at full-time, though, he had seen the Dutch side badly exposed for the menace plaguing his team, and a game that Should have ended in a 3-0 home win. a 3-3 draw.
It wasn’t the sixth defeat in a row, it just felt like one.
Feyenoord scored three times in the last 15 minutes at the Etihad Stadium to leave City with work to do to finish in the top eight. Champions League group stage. More immediately, Guardiola will have to travel to Anfield this weekend to play. Premier League Leaders with a group of players who seem chronically low on confidence. It is now six games without a win and seven goals have been scored in the space of four days.
The end of the game was such a shock that it left Guardiola at a loss for words.
“It doesn’t need to be said. [the players]They know it well,” Guardiola said. “It is what it is. Now it’s hard to swallow.
“We give up especially the first one and after that we are not consistent enough. The game was good, we played well, we could have scored three runs and scored more. We are a team that have scored a few, few goals in these eight or nine years, now we can rest for a day or two and prepare for Anfield.
For large parts of the first half, City played like a team trying to reinvent themselves. Their worst run of form since 2006 which has seen them win the last four Premier League titles is over.
For a while, though, it seemed that way Erling Holland Will put paper over the cracks. Much of the first half looked awkward and disjointed until the Norwegian striker scored from the penalty spot in the 44th minute.
This seemed to dampen the spirits of Feyenoord, who scored two more goals in the eight minutes after half-time. Ilkay GündoğanKay’s deflected volley made it 2-0 in the first. Mathis Nunes Ran down the right and crossed for Holland to score his second of the night. He now has 51 goals in the Champions League (goals and assists) — reaching the benchmark in 44 games, the fewest by anyone in the competition’s history.
The beauty of such a prolific goalscorer is that he can hide any problems.
Guardiola certainly thought he had done enough to win the game, and with an eye on Liverpool, he took the opportunity to substitute. Nathan Ake, Phil Foden And Gündoğan with more than 20 minutes. It left Nunes and James McAtee In the middle of midfield, and a Feyenoord team that seemed devoid of any attacking ideas, were suddenly motivated.
Nineteen Hajj Musa Scored what looked like a consolation before the substitutions. Santiago Gimenez — return from injury — bundled in a second with eight minutes.
In the context of 4-0 defeat To Tottenham On Saturday, Guardiola described his team as “fragile”. And that’s exactly what they looked like during a chaotic finale.
Igor Paixão Chased a length ball over the top, Ederson Came flying out to clear the danger only to be left in a heap on the floor. With only Rico Lewis Guarding the goal, Paixão crossed. David Hanco to get ahead and send the Feyenoord fans into a bouncing delirium behind the goal.
“It was an incredible evening if you’re from Feyenoord,” coach Brian Persik said. “It was a strange game. It was an unbelievable result. For me they are still the best team in the world. You always believe but we knew it was always going to be a tough game. We don’t usually celebrate draws. But it’s a bit special.”
Traveling Feyenoord supporters spent the final few minutes chanting the name of former boss Arne Slott — now in charge of Liverpool — and singing “You’ll Never Walk Alone”.
Slot has got a small case. Real Madrid To deal with it on Wednesday before facing City this weekend, but when it comes time to watch the final 15 minutes of the game against Feyenoord, the Dutchman will be licking his lips in anticipation. Liverpool have scored two or more goals in each of their last six games. City, meanwhile, have conceded at least two in each of their last six.
Guardiola said on Saturday that City would be out of the title race before Christmas if they lose at Anfield and let an 11-point gap open up. His job now is to try to lift his players to make sure that doesn’t happen.
“We have to. [win]We have to,” said Guardiola ahead of Sunday’s match against Liverpool. “That’s my job. We didn’t lose today. The situation is known to all. I don’t need to add anything at all. We are going to train. [Wednesday]recover and get ready for the next game. Day off and we have two or three days to prepare and go for it.”
Even at this early stage, it feels like their season is on a knife’s edge.