Manchester City imploded at the Etihad Stadium on Tuesday evening, blowing a 3-0 lead to draw with Feyenoord.
City were the better team for 75 minutes. Erling Haaland’s brace and İlkay Gündoğan’s volley had given them a commanding lead.
But they threw it all away. When Anis Hadj Moussa made it 3-1, the comeback still looked unlikely; when Santiago Giménez made it two, there was belief; when Dávid Hancko pulled level, the sublime had become quite ridiculous.
As it happened
Six games. Manchester City, still the champions of England, still coached by Pep Guardiola, still in possession of one of the best squads in all the world, have failed to win in six long games.
After five losses, City needed to win, and they needed to win badly. City sides of old would’ve beaten Feyenoord with their eyes closed; they might as well have when they won 4-0 in Rotterdam in 2017. But this was no guarantee.
Starting well was a necessity, but they knew it wouldn’t be enough; this is a team that scored first against Sporting and Brighton before losing both. What they needed to do was start well and maintain those standards.
It didn’t take long before the chances started to come in. First was İlkay Gündoğan, his third-minute strike deflected out for a corner.
Then it was Erling Haaland’s turn, and he came within whiskers of nodding home Manuel Akanji’s teasing cross, but a combination of the post and Timon Wellenreuther’s right hand denied him.
Embed from Getty ImagesNothing had been quite piercing enough yet, though, and when Jack Grealish volleyed a Bernardo Silva cross into the back of Phil Foden in the 13th minute, the worry might have started to creep in: what if this was going to be like the last five games? Chances created; chances squandered. If Feyenoord could go up the other end, the hosts would be in real trouble.
But they couldn’t do that; not really. When they did occasionally break, either Joško Gvardiol was in the way or the finishing touch was lacking; Igor Paixão would take perhaps their best two efforts of the first half, first directing a more-than-ambitious scissor kick over the bar and then striking directly into the arms of Ederson.
Besides him, De Kuip really didn’t have an outlet whatsoever; City, on the other hand, had more than enough, but none with the finishing touch – not yet anyway. Foden would be the next man to be denied, firing low and hard from distance before Wellenreuther pounced on the danger again, before Nathan Aké headed just wide from a corner.
It was coming. By this point, City had done everything but score.
On 41 minutes, City had a corner. Foden whipped it in, and Gvardiol headed back into the area. Latching onto it was Haaland, but Quinten Timber wasn’t going to make it easy for him as he lunged in to stab the ball away. Except, he didn’t stab the ball; he instead clipped the foot of the striker, who collapsed in a heap. After some deliberation and a VAR check, referee Radu Petrescu gave the spot kick.
This was the helping hand City had been after, and they weren’t to waste the opportunity. It was makers-takers; Haaland stepped up and buried it into corner. Wellenreuther went right and could only watch as it flew past his left and into the back of the net.
Embed from Getty ImagesFinally, they were in front and not showing signs of cracking. In the second half, they had to build or suffer a now all-too familiar fate – and build they did.
Five minutes into the second half, they mad it two, corners causing issues for Feyenoord once more. This time, the delivery met Dávid Hancko, who could only clear the ball as far as Gündoğan, lurking just inside the area. He waited for the ball to drop, swung a leg and met it on the volley, but it was central and low; Wellenreuther should have had no issues. That was until it hit the heel of Hancko and squirmed past him into the net, cruelly trickling home to double the hosts’ advantage.
City were now well on top, Pep Guardiola’s side playing like themselves again, building with purpose and expectation rather than hope alone. Only three minutes later, two would become three, and it would be Haaland once more, this time sliding into the six-yard box to prod home a low Matheus Nunes cross.
They were on top, they were smiling again – but they weren’t perfect. Feyenoord had hardly threatened at all, but on 75 minutes they gave themselves a slither of hope – and Manchester City gave it to them. It was Gvardiol at fault, imperious in the first half but half asleep then, playing an aimless, blind ball into his own box. Anis Hadj Moussa couldn’t believe his luck, but could keep his composure, taking the ball round Ederson and slotting home into an empty net.
City had thus far learned from their mistakes in previous games. Now the contest was tighter; they couldn’t afford the gap to close anymore.
So, when an unmarked Jordan Lotomba received a diagonal ball from Paixão, clipped a pass off the post and onto the goal line itself for Santiago Giménez to chest home – well, it was hardly ideal for the hosts.
Embed from Getty ImagesA three-goal lead had been cut to two and then one in the space of seven minutes; with eight left on the clock, City proved they still weren’t quite back up to speed. They’d taken a cake walk and turned it into an uphill battle.
And the slope was just too steep. One ball over the defence was all it took. Paixão raced to get on the end of it, Ederson rushed to meet him – and the forward won the sprint. Goalkeeper out the picture but winger just a tad too wide, a good cross was all they needed for an astonishing equaliser.
As luck would have it, the cross was perfect. Háncko drifted in at the far post marked by Rico Lewis; it was a foregone conclusion. Once the ball crashed into the empty net, the Feyenoord faithful exploded with joy behind the goal. They had done it, against all odds.
It’s another terrible result for City. A draw on paper is better than a loss; blowing two points from 3-0 up likely feels even worse. By the time they face Liverpool on Sunday, they’ll be winless in over a month, and at the mercy of a side which takes no prisoners.
As for Feyenoord, it’s the most unlikely of points. After being blown away by RB Salzburg, they couldn’t have predicted to have things all their own way at the Etihad. And they didn’t; but they did enough, they capitalised on mistakes, and they took their point. And they deserved it.
It’s back to the drawing board for Pep Guardiola and Manchester City. At this rate, they may be there every week.
The lineups
MCI: Ederson; Gvardiol, Aké, Akanji, Lewis; Nunes, Gündoğan, Silva; Grealish, Haaland, Foden
FEY: Wellenreuther; Smal, Hancko, Trauner, Nieuwkoop; Timber, Milambo, Hwang; Paixão, Carranza, Hadj Moussa