What’s going on at Manchester City? After five defeats in a row, Pep Guardiola’s team were 3-0 ahead after 53 minutes of their last Champions League game this evening. But then the defensive errors that had plagued them of late returned as Dutch visitors Feyenoord scored three goals in the final 15 minutes to secure an unlikely point.

Erling Haaland (two) and Ilkay Gündogan had given City control, only for Anis Hadj Moussa, Santiago Gimenez and David Hancko to amaze the Etihad Stadium.

City were sluggish in the early stages after their 4-0 home win against Tottenham Hotspur and could hardly help themselves early on when Jack Grealish’s shot on goal was blocked by teammate Phil Foden, denying him his first goal of the season.

However, it took until half-time for City to take the lead. Haaland was fouled in the penalty area by Quinten Timber and stood up to send Timon Wellenreuther the wrong way from the penalty spot, becoming the fastest player to reach 50 goals in the Champions League.

Gündogan added a second goal five minutes into the second half from a corner and Haaland added his second shortly afterwards.

Everything was going well until Moussa converted after a mistake by Josko Gvardiol in the 75th minute and substitute Gimenez then made it close by scoring a second goal eight minutes from time. Then goalkeeper Ederson made a sweep and Hancko headed the equalizer with a minute left.

Guardiola’s men will have to defend much better against Premier League leaders Liverpool on Sunday.

The athleteSam Lee and Liam Tharme analyze the topics of conversation.

---

Expectations were lowered and there were boos at the end

Even before kick-off and even during the game, it was clear in the stadium that expectations of City had fallen significantly given their recent results and performances.

Of course, this is only a temporary thing – if the Premier League champions, who have won four in a row, return to their usual level soon, the high standards will return, and if they start losing points again, the time will come where they lose points again More is required – but rather than hoping for the usual brilliant football, fans say all that was required was basic skills, a bit of fight and some energy.

And while things were going quite well – not spectacularly so, but certainly solid enough under the circumstances – it all came crashing down again when they conceded three goals in the final 15 minutes, one of them more ridiculous than the last, by a lot .

With Liverpool next at Anfield, things are looking bleak indeed. This basic skill cannot come soon enough.

The audience’s boos at the end showed that even the lowest expectations were not met.

Sam Lee

---

What’s going on back there?

Somehow City’s clean sheet win vanished from the clutches of a 3-0 win with 15 minutes left and the defense disintegrated.

A straightforward long ball ended with Moussa rounding Ederson. Manuel Akanji headed the first pass, but Gvardiol tried to direct it back to Ederson. That meant City kept just five clean sheets in 19 games this season.

Guardiola said before the game that “many minimal factors were the reason” for City’s five consecutive defeats, in which they conceded 14 goals. The situation remained under control for 75 minutes and Feyenoord’s only big chance in front of goal came from a neat pass from midfielder Hwang In-beom to winger Igor Paixao, who accelerated his shot.

Within six minutes, the game began with a consolation goal from Feyenoord when City failed to keep out a cross at the back post – Gvardiol was overloaded with two on one – and Gimenez saved from a rebound.

Then another direct ball with City holding the high line, but Paixao timed his run perfectly, rounded Ederson as the goalkeeper tried to sweep up and then crossed to the marauding left-back Hancko, who rose above Rico Lewis and the Scored equalizer with a header.

Guardiola stared at the ground. There was nowhere else to look – according to Opta, his team is the first in Champions League history to take a three-goal lead as late as the 75th minute and not win the game in question.

Liam Tharme

---

City’s indirect threat from corners

It wasn’t City’s trademark style for the first two goals – there was no way to blast an opponent with a thousand passes and turn cuts into tap-ins – but the quality of the set pieces is slightly more important on European nights.

When lining up before kick-off, it was noticeable that City only had three real aerial threats (Akanji, Gvardiol and Haaland). In comparison, Feyenoord was a much bigger team.

Although they didn’t gain many first touches, it was City’s reaction to the second (and third) ball that made them effective. The city’s territorial dominance meant that corners were plentiful, and there was a mix of inswingers, outswingers and corners. For the first goal, Akanji rose high after a Foden outswinger from the left and nodded back to the near post, where City had numbers. Haaland was kicked by Timber as he tried to clear and City scored a penalty. Crappy but effective.

Gündogan doubled the lead early in the second half after Foden’s inside swing headed clear from the right, attacked the ball from his position on the edge of the penalty area (where he was positioned to stop any counter-attack) and shot into the goal through a ball tangle of bodies.

Man City doubles their lead over Feyenoord! ⚽️⚽️

Ilkay Gündogan’s long-range shot goes into the goal via a deflection!#UCLonPrime pic.twitter.com/tDpK4y50bp

– Amazon Prime Video Sport (@primevideosport) November 26, 2024

Liam Tharme

---

Gündogan shows that he still has it

Gündogan’s return to City in the summer after a season at Barcelona hasn’t turned out to be the natural thing we all expected. After a slow start, things have worsened in recent weeks as injuries around him have increased the demands on his shoulders and exposed some of his weaknesses.

It’s no secret that City lack a physical presence in midfield and Gündogan was one of those who was too easily exposed by a quick run or quick pass around the corner. Again, the effort was there – witness his desperate attempt to stop Tottenham’s fourth goal on Saturday evening – but whether it was age (34), fatigue or both, he struggled to keep up.

Even the ability to play on the ball has let him down at times, and that has only compounded the problems City have on the counter-attack, because when the most trusted players turn the ball over and are unable to win it back, are you it’ll fight.

But continuing the overall theme of the evening, his performance here was more like this.

His goal was deflected, but he played a lovely ball to Matheus Nunes to put City on their way to the third, and overall it was a cleaner performance than last.

Sunday’s challenge will be significantly more difficult, but this was a night about regaining some feeling and Gündogan certainly did it.

Sam Lee

---

What did Pep Guardiola say?

Speaking to Amazon Prime, the UK broadcaster of the game, Guardiola said: “The game was fine at 3-0, we played well, but then we conceded a lot of goals because we weren’t stable. “We gave them that given first and then the other, so it was difficult.

“We have lost a lot of games recently, we are vulnerable and of course we needed a win. The game was good for confidence. We played at a good level but the first time something happened we struggled. I don’t know if it’s mental. The first goal cannot be realized, nor can the second. After that we forget what happened, we really wanted to win and do well; We’re doing well, but we’re not winning any games.

“The situation is what it is. We played a good game, but we can’t give them away at this level.

“At the moment I’m not prepared to think about it (whether City need to win the last three games to finish in the top eight and thus qualify directly for the round of 16). We have to recover and prepare for the next game. If we are not able to win games like today, it will be difficult.”

---

What’s next for Manchester City?

Sunday, December 1st: Liverpool (A), Premier League, 4:30pm UK, 11:30am ET

---

Recommended reading

(Top photo: Carl Recine/Getty Images))