That’s all from tonight on this game but the City saga continues.
Here’s more from that Pep verdict: “The game was fine at 3-0, playing good, but then we concede a lot goals because we were not stable. We gave them the first and then the other one, that is why it was difficult.
“We lost a lot of games lately, we are fragile and of course we needed a victory, the game was good for the confidence. We were playing a good level but the first time something happened we had problems.
“I don’t know if it is mental. The first goal cannot happen and the second as well. After that we forget what happen, we were desperate to win and do well, we do well but don’t win games.
“The situation is what it is. We played a good game but at that level we can’t give them away. Right now I am not ready to think about that [needing to get to 16 points]. We have to recover and prepare for the next game. If we are not able to win games like we did today it is difficult to do it.”
Pep also has a cut on his nose and some other blemishes on his face. Weirder and weirder.
Here’s Pep on the Amazon broadcast: “We were playing well at 3-0. We lost a lot of games lately and we are fragile. The first goal cannot happen, the second too. The situation is what it is. We have to recover. Rest. Think of the next game.”
He was very twitchy in that interview, his face flushed.
Jamie Jackson had quite the turnaround to turn around with his report from the Etihad.
Nathan Ake spoke to Amazon’s broadcast: “Difficult, 3-0 up, playing quite well and it all changed. You have to stay strong mentally. At 3-1 they pushed on and we invited more pressure. We have to stay mentally stronger. I think we did give it away. It feels like a defeat. It’s a tough night. We can look forward to Liverpool. This is where we have to show our character. We have to stay strong together.”
This was just five days ago.
Going to make this prediction, and I’m certain of this one but been wrong before: Josko Gvardiol isn’t going to start at Anfield.
Dry from Niall Mullen: “After five straight defeats you just knew City would stop the rot.”
Justin Kavanagh: “I take back that earlier comparison of City to The Faces; this is more Cut-the-Crap era Clash.”
This is England was the first half. OK, just about.
Kári Tulinius throws a log on the fire: “Gvardiol didn’t suddenly forget how to defend, but he seems slow to react these days. Same can be said of many other City players. It’s a bit of a caricature, I know, but I suspect that Pep’s attempted solutions are getting ever more baroque and intricate, overloading his players’ memory like a web browser with too many tabs open.”
Full-time: Manchester City 3-3 Feyenoord
The City players look haunted and reluctant to leave the field. Pep Guardiola will have choice words. If he says anything. His team utterly failed to manage a game totally within their control. They got punished – again – and the secret is out. City can be a soft touch.
90+5 min: Trauner, who has been excellent, makes two clearances. Then another. And mild panic when Gimenez gets the ball and spreads it. They couldn’t, could they?
The boos from the home fans sound at the full-time whistle. What just happened?
90+3 min: City pushing for the win but doing so nervously. They are but seconds away from a result that will feel like a defeat. Worse, probably.
90+2 min: This wasn’t supposed to happen. And now it happens all the time.
90+1 min: Now Grealish hits the bar. City want to win this, even though the damage is done already. Pep is going to roast them. How high was that line for the goal? Shades of Ange-ball when down to nine men.
90 min: Ederson charges out, and Igor Paixao storms away, and chips. Hancko, a defender, nods home. Nobody marking him. Just wow.
Goal! Manchester City 3-3 Feyenoord (Hancko, 90)
Wow, just wow. City have fallen apart.
88 min: Now a matter of City squeezing play but Lotomba, who looks mustard, escapes him. Then McAtee is booked for wasting time when he manhandles Wellenreuther. That was a cheap shot though killed time.
86 min: City, nerves jangling, are having to scrap this out. They haven’t been at all good…but Grealish sets up De Bruyne but Wellenreuther saves with ease.
84 min: That goal came via another Gvardiol mistake, and Feyenoord took advantage in real style, patiently cutting through. City were, frankly, a rabble. A familiar scene. They have conceded two or more in six consecutive matches for the first time since 1963. Just amazing.
Goal! Manchester City 3-2 Feyenoord (Gimenez, 82)
Hello, hello. Do we have a game on our hands? Gimenez bundles over the line after Lotomba crosses. There’s a VAR delay but Pep is already beside himself in pain.
Updated
80 min: An opening for McAtee? No, his shot is deflected into the hands of Wellenreuther. That sends Feyenoord back up the pitch and Pep, a sickened man, starts worrying again….
79 min: The word from the stadium is that the Feyenoord and City fans are confronting each other in the stands, and the stewards have had to step in.
Updated
78 min: If nothing else, that goal has proved that City have weaknesses and wobbles to be be picked at. Gvardiol had a bad one against Tottenham, too.
76 min: No words between Pep and Juanma, mostly because Pep has his head in his hands, and his head between the knees as if in the brace position.
Goal! Manchester City 3-1 Feyenoord (Hadj Moussa, 75)
Now the anger returns. Gvardiol does a no-look pass, to Simpson-Pusey, who isn’t looking, either, and Hadj Moussa steals in, rounds Ederson and scores from an angle.
Updated
74 min: Pep and Juanma are chatting away. So much more relaxed…
72 min: Two more Feyenoord changes, with Gimenez, the star man who has been suffering from injuries, comes on for Carranza. The Feyenoord fans sound very happy to see him.
70 min: Bernardo wafts a cross that has Grealish dive-heading in the style of Andy Gray; except Gernot Trauner dives across to clear.
68 min: There’s been a couple of Feyenoord subs, too. Kept waiting a long time on the sidelines. Smal and Milambo off, and on come Thomas Beelen and Ramiz Zerrouki.
66 min: Three City subs imminent, we are told. Simpson-Pusey, McAtee and KDB. To follow Richard Hirst, McAtee can be Blondie Chaplin and sail on, sailor. Off go Gundogan, Ake and Foden.
64 min: Rico Lewis has had a decent game as full-back given license to roam into midfield. The Trent role, as we now call it.
61 min: Priske is set to make some subs . Like Pep, he has weekend engagements to think of. Feyenoord welcome the mighty Fortuna Sittard to De Kuip on Saturday.
60 min: Rick Harris: “I think I watched a different FA Cup Final to Chris Lawton as I saw Manchester City outplayed by Manchester United who were the better team on the day.”
My recollection, too.
Chris is back: “There you go for the third goal … move the ball forward quicker and you get goals. Sometimes it really isn’t all that difficult.”
Richard Hirst: “I’d put KdB more as a late period Beach Boys session musician.”
The Ricky Fataar role?
59 min: Does Haaland stay on for his hat-trick? He’s not leaving it to chance, exchanging passes with Foden and then slipping to the floor, rather like Grealish just before.
57 min: Feyenoord’s defensive discipline has deserted them. Carranza is booked for a hack at Rico Lewis.
55 min: Another? No, Jack Grealish loses his composure – and footing – just as the ball comes to him. That was not a confident finish. Next, Wellenreuther is asked to make a save from Gvardiol.
54 min: That winning feeling for City, then? Been a while. A long while. The plan is to take this forward to Anfield.
Goal! Manchester City 3-0 Feyenoord (Haaland, 53)
Nunes creates this one, asking for the ball to be played into his path, and then setting up Haaland for a sliding finish. Big smile from the big man as he scores.
51 min: Gundo enjoyed that one. It’s not been the happiest of returns to Manchester since he spent a year in Barcelona.
Goal! Manchester City 2-0 Feyenoord (Gundogan, 50)
The corner zips in, and Gundogan swings a boot, the ball bouncing off a defender and in, and that’s celebrated wildly by Pep and Juanma.
Updated
49 min: Bernardo finds space, and slips in Nunes, whose shot is well saved by Wellenreuther; though Nunes might have done better.
47 min: There was only a point between these two in the table as they kicked off – 11 places, though – all this will take a long time to get used to.
Back underway at the Etihad
46 min: Back off they go, and it’s an edgy, quiet Etihad that greets the players. It must be freezing, in mitigation.
Samuel Campbell gets in touch: “I understand why the penalty has been given but the reward of a free shot at goal for that offence is far too much. Feyenoord gained absolutely no advantage. Haaland was still able to lay the ball off and a city player got a show away. There has to be a different reward for such minor infractions in the penalty area “
Justin Kavanaugh: “City seem to have hit their mid-70’s Faces phase… while their main man has his name in lights after conquering the world, they seem to know that they’re just never going to be as good without the Rod.”
They’re missing KDB as Ronnie Lane, too.
Chris Lawton: “Real Madrid showed how to beat Man City last season. Teams set up 4-5-1 or 5-4-1 sit deep and narrow and let City have as much possession as they want around the box - then, if they can, they look to counter on the break ( see e.g. FA Cup Final ). Really surprised Pep hasn’t come up with an alternative to this like the immediately obvious of move the ball forward quicker.”
Michiel Vos: “Although I may be biased as a Feyenoord fan, may I just dismissively state that the font on the Man City shirt makes Comic Sans look cool?”
Peter Oh: “I guess it takes swinging Timber to take down the big Norwegian goal machine.“
The conceder of the penalty was Quinten Timber of the Timber twins.
Half-time: Manchester City 1-0 Feyenoord
A deserved lead? City are still not at it. Their goal came from a penalty that was rather fortunate. Feyenoord will count themselves unlucky, they had begun to grow into the game. Haaland scored his penalty with anger and rage.
Updated
45 min: Quite the release of energy after that goal. Relief all round. Haaland didn’t do much smiling. Guardiola looked happier than he has for a while but was no Cheshire Cat in his response. He and Juanma are still deep in discourse.
Goal! Manchester City 1-0 Feyenoord (Haaland, 44 pen)
Plenty of delay, and Haaland keeps his cool as the Feyenoord keeper wastes an inordinate amount of time. Pep can’t look. Haaland scores coolly and then smashes the ball into the net with real rage. That makes him the quickest player to 50 goal involvements in Champions League history.
Updated
Penalty for Manchester City
Was it given for handball? Was it given for Haaland being fouled as he turned? The latter, it seems.
Updated
40 min: Haaland in space but an exemplary block by Hancko gets it done.
38 min: Steve Waterhouse gets in touch: “Radu Petrescu; the Spurs mash up you never knew we needed. But we did.”
Matt Stephens gets in touch: “I watched Pep’s re-signing video interview earlier today. In his previous one two years ago, he was beaming, declaring “ I love it!” In this video he states that he felt obliged or compelled to stay. The body language was all shaking heads and furrowed brows. It might be wishful thinking on my part, but I feel the rest of this year is not going to turn out well for City. Pep could well change his mind and depart next summer.”
Big call, let’s see. But I like your style.
37 min: Ooof. Hwang thrashes in a shot that Nunes has to get in the way of. Then City, again set off by Ederson, their key playmaker these days, sets off a counter. A corner results from Foden’s shot and there’s more grappling by Haaland. Ake gets to it and heads wide.
35 min: The Etihad Campus is filling with groans. City mount an attack, Foden skating through but his ball to Haaland is blocked. The fans are getting behind the team at last. They need something to lift them.
33 min: Richard Hirst gets in touch: “Timber playing for Arsenal, Timber playing for Feyenoord: if only Forest were in action.”
We need Chopper Harris on the case.
32 min: Yeah, not much doing here. City are way off it, aren’t they? They’re good enough to win this, but the thrill has gone. And Igor Paixao, the Feyenoord forward, gets a sniff, though his shot is no trouble to Ederson.
29 min: John de Wolf is the on the Feyenoord bench. John de Wolf, once of Wolves, and involved in this all-time FA Cup classic fully 30 seasons ago.
27 min: City…it’s not really happening for them. Feels like their best football is some way off. On the bench, Guardiola and Juanma Lillo are both muttering away. Juanma looks a bit like Kevin Keegan.
Updated
25 min: The Feyenoord fans taunting the home fans. The home fans find some voice in response. The language is not to be repeated here.
23 min: Feyenoord mount a proper attack, and after the ball whistles past Ederson, a quick counter ensues. Wellenreuther makes a fine save from Foden, and City have a corner. Haaland is involved in all sorts of grappling, and that delays a corner that’s eventually cleared.
21 min: Some City chanting. To Oasis’s She’s Electric. Quinten Timber, the brother of Arsenal’s Timber, is making himself busy. Twin brother, in fact.
Updated
19 min: Feyenoord attempt to press high and succeed only in setting up a City attack. That falls flat, too, Foden crowded out. The Dutch team seem to be growing in confidence.
17 min: Some Haaland anger as he chases down a pass and hounds the defender, only for an offside to be called. Pep, in puffer jacket, looks just as anguished.
15 min: Jack Grealish attempts the rarely seen tap-corner. He succeeds only in setting up a Feyenoord attack. Gvardiol sweeps up.
14 min: Wellenreuther slides out to stop Nunes. City prompting and probing. Feyenoord really sitting back and suffering. There’s a handball shout as it next goes to Nunes. Nothing doing.
13 min: Grealish gets a chance. Wellenreuther had decided to play out of goal and the ball is recovered and played in. The shot rattles away – off Foden. Lots of eagerness, lots of possession, it will come, but it’s not coming yet.
Updated
11 min: Foden seems to be manning the left where you might expect Grealish to be. This time, his ball finds Haaland, who can only poke at the ball.
10 min: First chance, a header by Haaland, flicked down and Wellenreuther makes a fine save. Initially, Foden’s cross had missed a rather statuesque Haaland.
8 min: Jack Grealish trying to get involved; he’s been peripheral so far – and for much of the season. City retain the ball. And retain and retain.
7 min: Is a lack of tactical fouls costing City? Someone might have the stats. Maybe those aged legs are struggling to keep up with speedy opponents. The passing tonight has been a bit ponderous, too.
6 min: Gundogan is in the central role, the Rodri position. Nunes attempts to wriggle through – he’s in the role of ball carrier tonight. Feyenoord are sat deep. And try to send away Carranza, who is on the end of a tactical foul.
4 min: City are doing what you’d expect City to do, lots of passes, dominating possession. That said, they’ve done that for spells of all the games they lost. Rico Lewis takes a whack, from two defenders at once. But he’s OK.
3 min: Bernardo Silva – the captain – spins and twists. Haaland wants it, Gundogan gets it, and his shot is blocked. Foden doesn’t do much with the corner.
Away we go in Manchester
1 min: Feyenoord set off briskly, and there are cheers from the City fans as Manuel Akanji clears the danger. The Feyenoord fans are making a racket. De Kuip is one of the best places to watch football in my opinion and they’ve brought some of that to Manchester.
So, the players shake hands, and soon enough, they will be kicking off. The Etihad is under capacity, we are told.
Updated
At the Etihad, they’re holding another light show, though not like that one for Rodri.
By the way, Niall McVeigh is providing the updates on the rest of the games from his chair.
News from elsewhere, relevant to City: Julian Alvarez – remember him? – has scored twice for Atletico at Sparta Prague. They replaced him with…Savinho?
Krishna gets in touch: “Hello John (or is it Scott under a new pseudonym?)
“Lose to Spurs. Then lose to Arne’s successor. And finally lose to Arne himself. Certainly Pep would not like such orderly things, a narrow win today followed by a draw this weekend is what I predict.”
Yes, it is John. Standing in for the great man.
Updated
The headlines: De Bruyne still on the bench, and so is Gimenez. Walker dropped, as is Savinho.
In: Nathan Ake, Matheus Nunes and Jack Grealish. Out: Walker, Savinho and John Stones, who isn’t in the squad at all.
The teams are in
Man City: Ederson, Lewis, Akanji, Ake, Gvardiol, Silva, Gundogan, Matheus Luiz, Foden, Haaland, Grealish. Subs: Ortega, Carson, Walker, Dias, De Bruyne, Savio, Wright, Simpson-Pusey, O’Reilly, McAtee, Wilson-Esbrand.
Feyenoord: Wellenreuther, Nieuwkoop, Trauner, Hancko, Smal, Hwang, Milambo, Timber, Hadj Moussa, Carranza, Igor Paixao. Subs: Bijlow, Ka, Beelen, Zerrouki, Gonzalez, Ivanusec, Mitchell, Zechel, Gimenez, Lotomba, Redmond.
Referee: Radu Petrescu (Romania)
As ever, Jonathan Wilson has been thinking deeply against this unexpected malaise.
And yet something is different. According to Opta, City have had the third-easiest run of fixtures of any club from the start of this Premier League season, yet if they lose at Anfield next week (and Liverpool are the side Guardiola has lost to second-most often) they will be 11 points behind the leaders. The aura has gone; opponents are sensing blood in the water. This is like Chelsea in 2015-16, or Manchester United under David Moyes, or Liverpool in the early 1990s. Sides no longer face them seeking merely to avoid embarrassment; they believe there is a chance of a notable result.
City aren’t old, OK? Not according to Pep, that is.
Missing for City: Oscar Bobb, Ruben Dias, Mateo Kovacic and, of course, Rodri.
That the rest look tired is also a big problem.
For Feyenoord: Santiago Gimenez will be a big miss, and he’s doubtful with a thigh injury.
Brian Priske, the Feyenoord coach, Arne Slot’s successor on City: “For me they are still one of the best teams in the world, a world-class team. We’ve seen a lot of their games and, for example, at the weekend against Spurs they were really unlucky. We know we have to play a perfect match to get a positive result, especially defensively.
More Pep: “In this situation we have to be more direct in our principles. Don’t change much, in fact less than ever. One day we’re going to win a game and our mind will be clear. I hope it will be [against Feyenoord], if not Sunday [against Liverpool]. But the desire is there to change it and we’re going to try.”
Does this mean they *are* going direct?
And Kevin De Bruyne: “It has been a bit chaotic. I have seen so many people passed around the medical area. Seeing who is playing, who is not, people who shouldn’t be playing but did with an injury; in these games we were all over the place. Everyone is down but we have to move on.”
Some Pep quotes from his press conference: “I still have the feeling that this season we will still do very good things. I don’t give up and I have a feeling we will be there. We will congratulate the team that takes our crown because they deserve it, not because we gave it to them. [When] you are defending a legacy, tradition, success it is so difficult to handle.”
Preamble
It couldn’t be six in a row, could it? Surely this is the night when the rots stops, and Manchester City recover their footing. Feyenoord are only fourth in the Eredivisie and 21st in the Champions League enormotable. They couldn’t, could they? It’s at the Etihad but it’s also uncharted territory for Pep Guardiola. Will he ask his team to go tight, play the percentages? That’s not the usual way but that’s the orthodox way out of such fluxes. But then again, nothing about Pep or City is ordinary.
Join me for an 8pm GMT kick-off.
