Pep Guardiola only makes such substitutions when the game has been won. With Manchester City taking a 3-0 lead against Feyenoord on Tuesday night, it was time to get some new legs in a stable environment. But these are not stable times at City and – don’t adjust your sets – nothing seems to be going right.

As Kevin De Bruyne, James McAtee and Jahmai Simpson-Pusey got a few minutes of play, City headed for a much-needed win. Erling Haaland had put in a spirited performance and normal service should be resumed.

They had reached the three-goal threshold, which has traditionally served as a trigger for Guardiola to give minutes to players he believes need an extra helping hand – think Kalvin Phillips, Sergio Gomez, Cole Palmer and Matheus Nunes the last few seasons.

It’s an integral part of the Etihad Stadium experience, a sign of normality: City will win this game, prepare for a fairly quiet final 20 minutes. Maybe they’ll score again, maybe not, but they’ll win.

These assurances are currently a thing of the past. Forget everything you thought you knew. City, the team that has won six of the last seven Premier League titles, one of the best teams in history, became the first Champions League team to have a three-goal lead after 75 minutes and not win.

It wasn’t a dream, the game ended 3-3. There were boos at the final whistle. Guardiola was asked about it and he said: “Fair enough.” “People come here not to remember the successes of the past,” he said, “they come here to see the team win and good performances provides.”

He was also asked about the substitutes but they weren’t the problem, it’s everything else.

When asked about the large scratch on his nose, he said he cut himself with his fingernail – which probably explains all the other things seen in the TV interviews. He either spent the match taking care of a feral cat or scratching his head looking for answers.

Considering how strange things seem, you wouldn’t rule out the cat, but Guardiola was a headache even at his best, and these are among the worst.

What are the answers? Some glaring deficiencies on the pitch can easily explain their recent defeats – for example, the lack of energy in the midfield that allows teams to play through City and respond to their injury-hit defence.

They have played very well at times in the last six games and were mostly solid enough on Tuesday, but the problems lie deeper than physical deficiencies such as age or injuries. The team’s confidence must be at an all-time low.

Even one of this season’s most reliable players, Josko Gvardiol, has faltered, scoring twice against Tottenham Hotspur and twice again against Feyenoord at the weekend.

“We have lost a lot of games recently, we are vulnerable and we needed a win, the game was good for confidence,” Guardiola said. “We played at a good level, but the first time something happened we struggled.”

After the equalizer, Feyenoord ran back into their own half, fearful of City’s direct hit. Jack Grealish hit the post with a deflected shot, but the Dutch were – understandably – so keen to maintain their lead that they didn’t seem to realize they could have done more if they wanted to.

Next up is Anfield, where even the most invincible City teams have struggled over the years. Granted, that was against a slightly more ruthless beast in Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool, but what Arne Slot’s side lack in chaos they make up for in control – the most important aspect of Guardiola’s great teams, but something they can’t manage now.

“We were a team that always conceded very few goals in these eight or nine years, we were so stable in the games, could control well, defend well, and now it won’t happen,” lamented Guardiola. “We can’t finish the games and every time they came they scored.”

Guardiola has recently argued, with good reason, that such a relegation is inevitable. He was amazed that his team came back year after year to continue to play well and continue to win. He always pointed out that all the other Premier League champions had big problems next season – and it turns out they all had such problems. United, Chelsea, Leicester and even Liverpool finished well off the pace. Even City, before Guardiola made the breakthrough.

Given the number of games they’ve played in recent years, they were always going to have a bad streak, not to mention the intensity of the games, but surely no one expected something like this?

Liverpool are the worst opponents at the weekend, but it is no exaggeration to say that games against Nottingham Forest, Crystal Palace (away), United and Aston Villa (away) before Christmas will present some problems themselves.

And what about the Champions League? Many would have expected City to finish in the top two in this new format, but they face a battle for a place in the top eight to avoid an additional play-off round. To do that they probably need to win at Juventus and Paris Saint-Germain and then win at home against Club Brugge.

The city is far from finished. Guardiola has signed for another two years and despite the chaos, no one is better placed to put things back in order. They will come back, whether this season or next.

Things will probably get worse, possibly even worse, before they get better. Forget everything you thought you knew.

(Top photo: Darren Staples/AFP via Getty Images)