Manchester City blow a three-goal lead as Feyenoord produce a fantastic fightback | Champions League

Manchester City’s losing streak is over – just. But they remain a listing ship that can go down at any time. “Fragile” was Pep Guardiola’s summary of his team’s state, and a clue to the manager’s own mood was the cut on his nose, which he said was self-inflicted by a finger due to the rigors of the competition.

City were 3-0 up after 75 minutes, but a late horror show relinquished the advantage as Feyenoord preyed on home nerves through Anis Hadj Moussa, Santiago Giménez and David Hancko, who brought Feyenoord level to earn a hard-fought point.

After five defeats in a row, a gallop victory was on the cards, which would have left Guardiola and his players feeling much brighter ahead of the champions’ next challenge: Sunday’s match at Liverpool. But after the shaky finish, the trip to Arne Slott’s managers is the last one they want.

Feyenoord, who arrived as the Eredivisie’s fourth-placed team, looked beaten by two Erling Haaland goals and one from Ilkay Gündogan. The second and third goals came shortly after the break as Guardiola ditched the narrow 4-3-3 that proved toothless against Ange Postecoglu’s Tottenham on Saturday for a 4-2-3-1 that, for the first 45 minutes, still allowed holes and was profligate.

The bigger picture here is that Rodri remains sorely missed – for his steady head and cool control. Hadj Moussa and Giménez’s 75th- and 82nd-minute strikes each came as Josko Gvardiol lost his composure and played sloppy passes, while Ederson was at fault for rushing in for the visitors’ equaliser.

City are 15th with eight points and nine to play for, so a top-eight finish that takes a side straight into the last 16 is a no-brainer, especially as Juventus and Paris Saint-Germain are two of their last three enemies. Club Brugge the other. City conceded at least twice for a sixth game in a row for the first time since 1963. Guardiola was calm afterwards while acknowledging that none of Feyenoord’s “three episodes” should have been allowed.

City began as casually as they finished hauntingly, Haaland and Phil Foden sharing a joke before kick-off and then engaging in a fluid move: the latter crossed, the ball was turned back by Manuel Akanji and the Norwegian headed in to see Timon Wellenreuther save with a frantic dive low to the right.

Wellenreuther was then to blame. A misdirected pass was washed up by City and suddenly a Jack Grealish volley was on target before Foden’s back deflected it away.

But now we saw the clumsiness that has plagued Guardiola’s side as a sluggish Gündogan was robbed, City turned and Guardiol’s muscle was required to stop Feyenoord down the right.

Forwardness is another element City have lacked, and although Foden’s pivot-and-shot saw Wellenreuther save, it was emblematic of this. Another problem has been the gaps in midfield, and the way Feyenoord collapsed down the left wing was one of many examples that led an increasingly frustrated Guardiola to direct his anger at Bernardo Silva for not patrolling his flank.

City’s famous press also worked. Brian Priske’s men stroked possession the way their hosts wanted. Feyenoord kept slipping through – like when the ball went tap-tap-tap-tap and Igor Paixão hit the ball straight to Ederson.

Defensively, City looked like a goal was waiting to happen. The attack was far easier: a fierce Foden wave, culminating in a blocked attempt, led his team to the end they wanted to operate in. After a Hwang In-beom rocket was deflected, City moved up the pitch again. But the same lack of precision meant Haaland hit a leg instead of kissing the back of Wellenreuther’s net.

But then a pause. Quinten Timber caught Haaland and Radu Petrescu pointed to the spot. The Feyenoord captain lost the argument with the referee and after a delay Haaland hit the penalty in the bottom right corner, the relief among City enthusiasts was palpable.

Could City grow from here and dazzle through the second half before the weekend test? The answer was yes – up to 75 minutes. Gvardiol flashed the ball to Haaland at the fast pace required, but no. 9 turned into traffic. Matheus Nunes, more directly, shot; a corner was claimed and City were about to score a second for the first time since the 5-0 demolition of Sparta Prague here on October 23.

The ball was flown in from the right quadrant, it bounced out to Gündogan and his left-footed volley pinged into the net off Hancko, wrong Wellenreuther, and those in blue breathed more calmly.

City moved on to easy street seconds later via the kind of back-to-front foray that had appeared recently. Akanji fed Gündogan, whose pirouette foretold a pass to the marauding Nunes down the right. He skated forward and skimmed over a cross that saw Haaland, ever the arch-predator, slide home to make it 3-0.

Guardiola, as he likes, pointed a celebration towards the posh seats in the gods behind him and his players cruised. Grealish, Guardiol and Foden all went close. City were approaching their usual respectability, so when Akanji sprayed the ball straight to Hancko, he was relieved that the Feyenoord defender steered wide. But his side’s worrying crumbling was about to begin.