Pep Guardiola’s telling verdict as ‘fragile’ Man City suffer UCL collapse

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola admitted his team could not shake their vulnerability as they threw away a three-goal lead against Feyenoord.

City looked set to put their recent tough run behind them in style as they took a 3-0 lead at home to Feyenoord within an hour. They still led by that margin with 15 minutes left on the clock, but the Dutch side sensationally scored three of their own goals to take a point.

Anis Hadj Moussa gave Feyenoord hope, while Santi Gimenez provided a nerve-wracking final few minutes. And there was still time for David Hancko to wow the home fans with a minute left on the clock.

The draw leaves City on eight points from five games, and as things stand they would have to go through a play-off round to reach the round of 16. Guardiola made his feelings clear after the match.

“It was fine at 3-0 and we played well and we didn't concede much, but we conceded the goals because we are not stable,” Guardiola told Amazon Prime. “We give them the first and the other, so it's difficult that way.

“Recently we have been vulnerable in many games and of course we need a win. The match was good for confidence. We played at a good level and for the first time that something has happened there are problems.”

He was asked if the vulnerability was mental, and he replied: “I don't know if it's mental, it's a matter of technique. The first goal can't happen and neither can the second, so that's why we're desperate after that to win, desperate to do well. We have done well, but we are not winning games.”

City had lost five on the spin before Feyenoord came to town, culminating in a 4-0 defeat at home to Tottenham on Saturday. Although the losing streak technically came to an end and Guardiola saw some positives, City may need maximum points from their final three European matches to avoid an additional European play-off round.

“There are a lot of good things, but after where we came from and after the 3-3 there is not much to say,” Guardiola added. 'Of course there are many [good] things, we played a very good game, but I don't think we can give them away at that level.

“Right now it's not ready to think about it [the remaining Champions League games]. We have to recover for the next games, just think about what will happen in the future, what you have to do, and we are not able to win a game like today, it is difficult to do that.”

When asked how his team would prepare for Sunday's clash with Premier League leaders Liverpool, his answer was short. “Rest,” he said. “One or two days, be mentally clear and think about the next one [game].”