“Quite incredible” – Man City cause their own downfall again in 3-3 draw with Feyenoord
Manchester City were once again left ruing defensive lapses in concentration as they drew 3-3 with Feyenoord in the Champions League.
Things were looking so positive for Man City on the night. Pep Guardiola’s side were in turmoil going into their clash with Feyenoord. The defending English champions had lost five consecutive games across all competitions for the first time since 2006 when Stuart Pearce was in charge.
It’s a run that has seen them drop eight points behind Premier League leaders Liverpool, who they face in a crucial match on Sunday.
But they were 3-0 up at the Etihad with 20 minutes to go. Erling Haaland was on form for Man City, looking back to his clinical best.
Haaland had played in four of Man City’s five games during the losing run, missing the EFL Cup defeat to Tottenham Hotspur. He scored just one goal across those appearances, netting the opening goal in Man City’s eventual defeat to Brighton in the Premier League.
In Man City’s 4-0 defeat to Tottenham at the weekend, Haaland had seven shots, hitting the target twice. It was just the second time this season that Man City had failed to score across all competitions. In total, Man City have scored 39 goals across all competitions this season, with Haaland netting 17 of them.
In the 10 games Haaland hasn’t scored in, or hasn’t played, Man City have scored just 12 goals. So they needed him to roll back the weeks, as they look to build momentum ahead of a crucial period.
He scored two against Feyenoord, now directly involved in 51 goals in 44 Champions League appearances after 44 games. He reached 50 goal involvements with a penalty in the first half, achieving the milestone quicker than any other player in Champions League history. Ruud van Nistelrooy held the previous record, taking 45 games to hit 50 in 2004.
Only three English sides have failed to win a #UCL game in which they were 3+ goals ahead:
◎ Arsenal vs Anderlecht (3-3)
◎ Liverpool vs Sevilla (3-3)
◉ Man City vs Feyenoord (3-3)It's the first time City have conceded 2+ goals in six consecutive games in 61 years. 🤯 pic.twitter.com/MW5xmSzMi7
— Squawka (@Squawka) November 26, 2024
Guardiola looked assured of a victory, making a triple change with 20 minutes to go. But Feyenoord weren’t about to let Man City see the game out. And Man City were happy to help.
Two of Feyenoord’s goals came from Man City errors, one from Josko Gvardiol and another from Ederson. Only Stuttgart (3 vs Real Madrid) have made more errors leading to goals in the Champions League this season than Man City did against Feyenoord on Tuesday.
Gvardiol was the first to make an error, playing a careless ball back towards his own goal without looking. If he had looked, he would have seen Anis Hadj Moussa behind him. The Algerian raced onto the ball, taking it to the byline before beating Ederson from a tight angle.
Gvardiol was again involved in the build up to Feyenoord’s second, with a poor pass to James McAtee allowing the Dutch side to win back possession. Feyenoord continued the attack with Jordan Lotomba squeezing the ball in between Ederson and the post, for Santiago Gimenez to tap in.
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And then, in the 89th minute, a long ball was played over the top to Igor Paixao with Man City playing a high line. Ederson raced out to challenge the Brazilian, but completely missed the ball. Igor Paixao chipped the ball to the back post, where centre-back David Hancko was the head in.
Man City are just the third English side to fail to win a Champions League game having held a 3+ goal lead, after Arsenal against Anderlecht in November 2014 and Liverpool against Sevilla in November 2017 — both ending 3-3 draws.
Its also the first time they have conceded at least two goals in six successive matches across all competitions since May 1963. They were relegated from the top-flight in that season…
“I’ve been in this stadium many, many times over the last few years and I’ve been wowed by what I’ve seen,” former Man City manager Stuart Pearce told Amazon Prime Video.
“And I’ve been wowed again tonight. This is an incredible result, it really is. That will feel like a defeat.
“I don’t know what the dressing room will be like in there, in the City dressing room. But they’ll be taking this like a defeat, there is no doubt about that. Quite incredible.”
Across all competitions, Man City have made 14 errors leading to a shot this season, with six leading to goals. Only Southampton (eight) have made more errors leading to goals among Premier League sides this season.
