Nathan Ake has called on his Manchester City teammates to show their character, with questions raised about the team’s mentality after yet another disappointing result.
While City ended a run of five consecutive defeats in all competitions, they are now winless in six after a dramatic turn of events in their Champions League clash against Feyenoord on Tuesday evening.
Leading 3-0 at the Etihad Stadium after 53 minutes thanks to an Erling Haaland brace and Ilkay Gundogan’s second goal since returning from Barcelona in the summer transfer window, the hosts were seemingly in cruise control and on their way to a morale-boosting victory. .
However, Pep Guardiola’s side then scored three goals in the space of just 14 minutes to draw – a result which leaves them with eight points with three matches remaining in the league stage of the competition .
What is more worrying for City is that they have now conceded 17 goals in their last six games, raising suspicions that the players are suffering mental problems as their mini-slump deepens.
The question was asked of defender Ake and his response was to challenge his teammates to stand up and be counted.
“Maybe, maybe… it’s hard to say,” he told Amazon Prime Video when asked if it was a mental problem for City. “I think obviously we haven’t been in this situation many times. This is where we have to show our character.
“When everything seems to be going against us and everyone is pushing us aside. We have to stay mentally strong, believe in ourselves and stay together.
“There’s a period every season where people write us off. We just have to make sure we stay strong together as a team, the staff and everyone together and make sure we get through this.
“We played pretty well and got the situation under control and then everything changed. At that point, you just have to stay mentally strong. I think after making it 3-1 they kept going. I think maybe we should move forward a little earlier to keep the pressure on them.
“But we stayed playing from the back and maybe put more pressure on us. Then when we concede the second there is even more pressure and I think we have to stay mentally stronger.
“I think we did it [give it away]. When you lead 3-0 at home, I think you can never give it away like that. This is what is happening now. The only thing we can do now is fight back and stay strong. It feels like a defeat when you concede three goals at home.
Next up for City is a trip to Anfield to face Premier League leaders Liverpool on Sunday. Knowing that a defeat would leave them 11 points behind Arne Slot’s side, Ake believes this match is a perfect opportunity to bounce back.
“Look, it’s tough now, it’s a tough night,” he added. “The only thing we can do now is look forward to the next one.” It’s Liverpool, it’s a big match. This is another challenge that we must overcome.