Manchester City's woes continue as they became the first team in Champions League history to fail to win a game after leading by three goals or more in the 75th minute in their 3-3 draw against Dutch side Feyenoord. Manager Pep Guardiola could be seen being visibly frustrated from the moment the first goal went in and well past when Feyenoord found the equalizer. City's manager had his hands in his head almost clawing at his scalp in disbelief.
Scratches and bruises could be seen on his head during his post-match media availability. City may have snapped their five-match losing streak with the result but this could be the most frustrating match of the run. He, somewhat, explained how it happened.
"My finger here. With my nail," Guardiola said, then jokingly added, "I want to harm myself. Goodnight."
Considering the results, it's understandable why Guardiola may not be in good spirits following this latest draw despite recently extending his contract for another season. Chasing an unprecedented fifth consecutive Premier League title, this is a historic run without a victory for Guardiola.
"We have lost a lot of games lately because we are fragile and we need a victory. The game was good for the confidence. We were playing at a good level," Guardiola said after the match. "I don't know if it's a mental problem, their first goal cannot happen and the second as well, and after that we are desperate to win, desperate to do well. We do well but we don't win games."
City's winless streak
- Tottenham 2, Manchester City 1 (EFL Cup)
- Bournemouth 2, Manchester City 1 (Premier League)
- Sporting CP 4, Manchester City 1 (Champions League)
- Brighton 2, Manchester City 1 (Premier League)
- Manchester City 0, Tottenham 4 (Premier League)
- Manchester City 3, Feyenoord 3 (Premier League)
While some of the woes can be attributed to the loss of defensive midfielder Rodri to a season-ending injury, there's more to it for City at this point. Their defenders and Ederson haven't done well enough and at times and the fight to close down a ball faster than their opponents has fallen off. City actually lost the xG battle 2.13 to 2.11 to Feyenoord which is unheard of especially when City only allowed one shot on target a 0.16 of that xG in the first half of play. It needs to improve quickly but this is a spiral that City need to break out of before it becomes a full doom spiral that can't be undone. With Liverpool up next, they'll need to dig deep in order to do that. Just not with their nails.
