Manchester City are facing a “tough” season after their recent stumble

Pep Guardiola said Manchester City face a “tough” season after Feyenoord staged a stunning comeback and condemned his team to a sixth straight game without a win.

After five consecutive defeats, City squandered a three-goal lead in the final 15 minutes to draw 3-3 at the Etihad Stadium on Tuesday. At one point, Guardiola’s team were fifth in the Champions League table, but ended the evening in 15th place.

“It will be a tough season for us and we have to accept a lot of circumstances,” said Guardiola. “Unfortunately today the game was well played and we couldn’t punish them at the right moment. The team was so committed to many, many things, but unfortunately something is happening at the moment and we are not strong enough. We must try to avoid these mistakes.”

Thanks to two goals from Erling Haaland and another from Ilkay Gündogan, City appeared to be on their way to a comfortable win. What followed was an inexplicable collapse, with Guardiola’s team conceding three late goals on top of the four they conceded against Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday.

“There was no need to tell them anything, they know exactly,” said the city boss. “It is what it is, it’s hard to swallow at the moment. The game was good, we played well, we scored three goals and could have scored more. It’s not about not going for a run or not engaging, it’s about football that you have to have (on). “There are times when you should take a day or two to rest and prepare for Anfield.

Liverpool in the Premier League is City’s next game on Sunday and Guardiola faces the task of getting his players back up after a miserable run of success. If they lose, City would be 11 points behind the Reds.

“We must, we must,” he said. “That’s my job.”