Three goals up, restricting Feyenoord to a handful of shots, Manchester City could hardly have been more comfortable as Tuesday’s game entered the final quarter of an hour.
After five successive defeats threw their season into turmoil, Pep Guardiola’s side looked set to take an invaluable step towards getting back on track, just as they face Premier League leaders Liverpool. Super Sunday.
Such was the confidence of the Manchester City boss that he made just three changes, recalling Nathan Ake, Ilkay Gundogan and Phil Foden for hard-earned rest and handing minutes to Kevin De Bruyne, James McAtee and Jahmai Simpson-Pusey.
Sunday, December 1 at 3:30 p.m
Start: 16:00
He gave a safe conclusion.
Or at least it felt that way.
Instead, a stunning 15-minute collapse, the last of any side in Champions League history, a competition City won only last year, means they travel to Anfield on the back of their worst result yet.
And that’s telling, coming three days after the heaviest home defeat of Guardiola’s career against Tottenham.
Guardiol gave the first gift to “Feyenoord”.
Everything changed in an instant.
And just like against Spurs on Saturday, it started with a mistake by Josco Guardiola.
De Bruyne and Guardiol look dejected during the game
Simpson-Pucey’s header, after Manuel Akanji had been sent off on the stroke of half-time, was awkward for the Croatia international, who pressured Feyenoord’s forwards either side of him, but he still had to deal with it.
Instead, his horribly misjudged pass curled agonizingly into the path of Anis Haj-Moussa, who got there well ahead of the stranded Ederson to tap the ball around the keeper and slot home a smart finish from an acute angle.
Anis Hach-Musa scored the first goal after beating Ederson
It was the latest in a series of costly defensive mistakes by Guardiola, who was responsible for Spurs’ second goal as well as their opener.
What initially looked like a consolation goal for the visitors soon became the start of an epic collapse.
The city is shutting down to cut the deficit
Seven minutes later the deficit was reduced to one goal and the alarm bells were ringing loudly.
City had eight defenders in or just outside their penalty area when Igor Paiksao met Hwang In-beom’s cross near the right corner of the box, but both players found plenty of space.
Please use the Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Ben Ransom is joined by Adam Bate to analyze Manchester City’s collapse against Feyenoord.
McAtee was too late to get onto the latter’s right, while Bernardo Silva’s attempt to stop the former’s cross fell short, giving him the freedom he needed to lift a diagonal delivery to the far post with City disorganized.
Guardiol was late to spot Quinten Timber over his shoulder and outfielder Matheus Nunes failed to track Jordan Lotomba at all, allowing the right-back, who had come on as a substitute just 10 minutes earlier, to flick the ball wide. goal from near the edge.
Santiago Jimenez had a simple task of chesting the ball over the line
Santiago Jimenez celebrates scoring Feyenoord’s second goal
At his near post, Ederson appeared to be caught off guard, sticking out a leg and flicking the ball upright and across goal, where a sleeping Acanji had left an unmarked Santiago Jimenez with the easy task of chesting the ball in. line
Ederson is wrong again at the level of Feyenoord
City looked shell-shocked at this point.
Meanwhile, “Feyenoord” clearly felt its opportunity.
Please use the Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Tim Sherwood couldn’t believe Manchester City’s “capitulation” against Feyenoord.
Their third goal was perhaps their worst defensively, as it came from Hajj-Moussa’s innocuous overhead kick 10 yards from his own half near the right touchline.
In the penultimate minute of normal time, forced to simply play it safe and see out the closing stages, City pushed into the half.
Hajj-Moussa could have directed his pass to any of Feyenoord’s four runners but he found Paixao.Ederson steamed out of his box to clear the danger but got nowhere near it.
Ederson is tackled by Feyenoord’s Igor Paishao during the third goal.
The winger, like Haj-Moussa before him, had multiple targets to chase down with his next cross, with Hwang, Jimenez and Timber all running into the box untracked and City’s players too slow to get back.
In the end, Paixão picked out onrushing left-back David Hanko, who ran free in the box and met his team-mate’s cross with an easy header that sent Feyenoord into a frenzy and ensured their stunned hosts would strike again.
David Hanko heads the scoring for Rico Lewis
Hanko ran out of Feyenoord’s half without consequence
Hanko celebrates after his goal
Manchester City were pushed back into the mud
Guardiola struggled to explain the collapse afterwards.
“The game was good for confidence, we were playing at a good level and then when the first one happens, we have problems,” he said.
Please use the Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Pep Guardiola says Manchester City’s 3-3 Champions League defeat by Feyenoord was “hard to swallow”.
He bemoaned the lack of attention.
City once again where those moments are lacking and the mistakes keep piling up.
Manchester City’s defensive ‘errors leading to goals’ expected to rise
According to Opta, they have already made more mistakes leading to goals than last season. They are more than halfway to matching last season’s total for hitting errors.
They remain highly vulnerable to quick, direct attacks, but Feyenoord’s three goals all came in different circumstances, underscoring the scale of City’s problems right now.
Fail to iron out the problems at Anfield on Sunday and this extraordinary run is likely to continue, a draw that looked like a loss and left their season in danger of imploding.
