Pep Guardiola's telling verdict as 'fragile' Man City suffer Champions League collapse
Pep Guardiola's Manchester City were 3-0 up against Feyenoord with 15 minutes to play but couldn't hold on for what could have been an important victory in the Champions League
by Tom Victor · The MirrorManchester City manager Pep Guardiola admitted his team have been unable to shake their fragility as they threw away a three-goal lead against Feyenoord.
City looked set to put their recent tough run behind them in some style as they went 3-0 up inside an hour at home to Feyenoord. They still led by that margin with 15 minutes left on the clock, only for the Dutch side to sensationally score three of their own to snatch a point.
Anis Hadj Moussa gave Feyenoord hope, with Santi Gimenez setting up a nervy final few minutes. And there was still time for David Hancko to stun the home fans with a minute left on the clock.
The draw leaves City on eight points from five games, and as things stands they would need to go through a play-off round to reach the round of 16. Speaking after the game, Guardiola made his feelings clear.
"It was fine at 3-0 and playing good and we didn't concede much, but we concede the goals because we are not stable," Guardiola told Amazon Prime. "We give them the first and the other one, so in that way it's difficult.
"A lot of games lately we are fragile and of course we need a victory, and the game was good for the confidence. We were playing at a good level, and for the first time something happened there are problems."
He was asked if the fragility was mental, replying: "I don't know if it's mental, it's a question of technique. The first goal cannot happen and the second as well, so that's why after that... we are desperate to win, desperate to do well. We did well but we don't win games."
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City had lost five on the spin before Feyenoord came to town, culminating in a 4-0 loss at home to Tottenham on Saturday. While the losing run technically came to an end, and Guardiola saw some positives, City might need maximum points from their last three European games to avoid an extra European play-off round.
"There are a lot of good things, but after where we came from and after 3-3, nothing much to say," Guardiola added. "Of course there are a lot of [good] things, we played a really good game but I think at that level we cannot give them away.
"Right now it's not ready to think about [the remaining Champions League games]. We have to recover for the next games, just think about what's going to happen in the future, what you have to do, and we are not able to win a game like today it's difficult to do it."
When asked how his team would prepare to face Premier League leaders Liverpool on Sunday, his answer was brief. "Rest," he said. "One or two days, clear mentally and think of the next [game]."
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