by Pep Guardiola has explained the cut and scratches on his head visible during and after Manchester City’s Champions League match against Feyenoord.
The City boss could be seen with a cut on his nose at the Etihad Stadium on Tuesday night, as well as other marks on his head.
Asked about the cut after a dramatic six-goal draw that saw the hosts squander a late 3-0 lead in a chaotic 14 second-half minutes, Guardiola said: “Yes, that’s my finger there. With my nail.
Tuesday’s result continued a recent dismal run for City, who lost five consecutive matches in all competitions for the first time since 2006 before their capitulation against Feyenoord.
It was the worst run of Guardiola’s illustrious managerial career to date, with the Catalan never losing more than three games in a row at City, Bayern Munich or Barcelona.
Things will only get tougher for City too, with the small matter of a trip to face runaway Premier League leaders Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday.
Guardiola admitted his side were ‘fragile’ after Erling Haaland’s brace and an Ilkay Gundogan effort wasn’t enough to overcome Feyenoord, who rallied magnificently – with the help of some notable errors of City defender Josko Gvardiol – to send his 5,000 traveling fans wild thanks to goals from Anis Hadj Moussa, Santiago Gimenez and David Hanko.
There were audible boos from some stunned home fans during the full-time whistle at the Etihad, but Guardiola said he had no problem with such a reaction despite the team’s incredible record success of City in recent years.
“The last game against Tottenham, 0-4, they were there, the fans applauded,” he said. “They are disappointed, of course we understand that. They did it correctly.
“People come here not to remember the successes of the past. They come here today to see the team win and perform well, and we have to do that.
“They support us all the time. When we go, our fans are amazing. Of course, they are absolutely right to express how they feel, absolutely.”
Defending Gvardiol after his costly errors against Feyenoord, Guardiola said: “He is so young, he will learn. It will be a good experience. The way he played, he was the best player on the pitch, but I would be really wrong if I point out specific things that caused us to lose.
“He is young and he will learn. He’s a fantastic player, a fantastic boy and now more than ever we need to help him.
