Josko Gvardiol’s Man City disaster class takes the shame out of victory

At least it wasn’t the sixth defeat in a row. And that is perhaps the only consolation that Pep Guardiola and Manchester City could find on a night that saw their losing streak end but their self-destructive streak highlighted. Guardiola won a Premier League with a three-goal comeback at the Etihad Stadium. Here he lost a lead by one.

It was a spectacular, ground-breaking comeback for Feyenoord: down 3-0 after 74 minutes, with an incredible reaction they took an unlikely point. For their hosts, it was a self-destructive period that seemed limited to the days when Joe Royle spoke of “Cityitis”, and the defensive fragility that Guardiola lamented as Tottenham beat his City 4-0 on Saturday remains . “It’s hard to swallow now,” he said.

He defended an errant defender while he could have cursed his near-namesake: Josko Gvardiol endured a shocking quarter of an hour in which he was responsible for at least two goals. “We are a team that has conceded very few goals in these eight or nine years,” said Guardiola. Now, for the first time since 1963, City have conceded at least two goals in six consecutive games.

Within 15 minutes, City fell from fifth to 15th in the Champions League table. City snatched ignominy from the jaws of their first win in a month. A team that was once characterized by control ended in chaos. Although they could have won it when Jack Grealish hit the crossbar with a deflected shot in stoppage time, they have rarely looked so flawed or so tense. Although Feyenoord failed to follow in the footsteps of Tottenham (twice), Bournemouth, Brighton and Sporting CP, City appeared to be a team falling apart.

“We are not in a position to win games,” lamented Guardiola. The unexpectedly lengthy search for the 682nd win of his coaching career will take him to Anfield on Sunday, where he may find himself reflecting on a sixth defeat in seven. Perhaps it was thoughts of Liverpool that led him astray when the Feyenoord fans shouted the name Arne Slot. He beat Nathan Ake and Ilkay Gündogan by three goals and apparently tried to protect both of their legs. “The game was not in danger,” said Guardiola. Young players Jahmai Simpson-Pusey and James McAtee were among those who came on as substitutes and while neither were the main culprits in the ensuing collapse, City appeared powerless to resist the Feyenoord tide.

Guardiola seemed to fear the worst when they scored their first goal; His head was in his hands after an initial mistake from Gvardiol, who passed the ball to Anis Hadj Moussa to slot it in. Then it seemed as if the implications were simply that City would continue to keep a clean sheet and Gvardiol would struggle defensively.

But he was at fault when the ball was given away again and two Feyenoord substitutes came together. Jordan Lotomba’s shot from a tight angle hit the post by Ederson and Santiago Gimenez made his first appearance in two months by chesting the ball over the line.

Had the goalkeeper perhaps done better there, he was definitely at fault for the equalizer when he was caught in no man’s land, bursting out of the penalty area as Igor Paixao headed the ball past him and showed presence of mind from a tight angle to lift a cross to the far post for the onrushing David Hancko, who crowned his own impressive performance with a header. “Three episodes,” sighed Guardiola.

This meant City have now, ridiculously, conceded 13 goals in four games. In three of them they lost a lead; but not like that. They became the first team in Champions League history to be three goals ahead in the 75th minute and still not win.

What followed changed the complexion of these three goals, each scored ten minutes before halftime. Nevertheless, City looked uninspired in the first 40 minutes and only really became dangerous when Erling Haaland headed against the post and Phil Foden managed to block Jack Grealish’s volley.

Then luck was on their side, referee Radu Petrescu ruled that Quentin Timber had fouled Haaland in the penalty area. The Norwegian hit the crossbar with a penalty in Portugal. When he took his next penalty, there was a cry of relief.

While Haaland demonstrated his predatory nature, Gündogan demonstrated his technique to double the lead. He finished beautifully with a left-footed volley from the edge of the penalty area, although goalkeeper Timon Wellenreuther may have been beaten by Hancko’s deflected save. Gündogan hasn’t scored any goals in the Premier League since returning to City, but it was his third in the Champions League. After his miserable afternoon against Tottenham came a seemingly relaxing evening in which he was also involved in the third goal. Gündogan then played the penetration pass to release Matheus Nunes, whose flat center was converted by a slipping Haaland. “When you’re three-nil behind, you think it’s going to be a long evening,” said Feyenoord coach Brian Priske.

The game is over, or so Guardiola thought. He had signaled some of his consideration for Anfield by dropping Kyle Walker and opting not to give Kevin De Bruyne a first appearance since September. With the substitutions came even more. But they backfired. Although City extended their unbeaten home streak in Europe to 34 games, this was only their fifth draw in that time. This could also have consequences: they will probably have to beat both Juventus and Paris Saint-Germain away to get into the top eight. But first they have to beat someone, anyone. Because Manchester City, the team that couldn’t stop winning, can’t start now.