Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola is rarely one to point fingers at his players and, despite a calamitous 3-3 draw at home to Feyenoord in the Champions League on Tuesday after blowing a three-goal lead, the Spaniard is remained loyal to his team. Again.
City find themselves in uncharted territory, now mired in a six-match slump after arriving at the Etihad Stadium for Tuesday’s match on the back of five consecutive defeats, including a 4-0 defeat to Tottenham last weekend.
It was another miserable evening as defensive errors saw Feyenoord strike three times in 15 minutes and what could have been a confidence boost for City turned into anything but.
“There was no need to say anything (to the players), they know it perfectly,” Guardiola said. “It’s like that, difficult to swallow now. We especially let go first and then we’re not stable enough.”
A brace from Erling Haaland and a goal from Ilkay Gundogan had the home fans cheering before Anis Hadj Moussa pulled one back for Feyenoord in the 75th minute when he pounced on a terrible back pass from their Croatian defender Josko Gvardiol.
Another sloppy pass from the 22-year-old allowed Santiago Gimenez to make it 3-2 seven minutes later before David Hancko equalized for the Dutch side in the 89th minute.
“He’s so young, he’ll learn,” Guardiola said of Gvardiol, who looked distraught after Feyenoord’s second goal. “…I would be really wrong if I pointed out specific things to him. He is a fantastic player, a fantastic boy and we need to help him more than ever.”
At the end of the match, the crowd booed City, who dropped to 15th in the 36-team standings with eight points, two points behind the top eight who automatically qualify for the round of 16, with the next 16 teams entering home-and-home playoffs. to try to reach them.
“They don’t come here to remember the successes of the past, but to see the team win,” Guardiola said of the shell-shocked City fans. “Of course, they are absolutely right to express how they feel. Of course (they are) disappointed.”
Feyenoord coach Brian Priske beamed with pride after his side became the first in Champions League history to draw after trailing by three goals in the 75th minute.
“I love that word resilience and that’s what these boys have,” he said.
Guardiola’s side will next face one of their toughest tests of the season when they visit Premier League leaders Liverpool on Sunday. A defeat would leave City 11 points behind the Reds.
Asked if he could put his players up to a mammoth challenge, Guardiola replied: “We have to do it, we have to do it. That’s my job.”
Additional reporting from Reuters