With Kevin De Bruyne, James McAtee and Jahmai Simpson-Pusey brought on by Pep Guardiola, Man City were closer to victory than ever. They took a 3-0 lead over Feyenoord and no one thought they could lose points at the Etihad.
Fans at the Etihad were used to the fact that the home team would have won if they had led by 3 goals in the early part of the second half. Even in the last 20 minutes, Erling Haaland and his teammates may have scored more goals. However, in just 15 minutes, from 74 to 89, everything seemed like a disaster for The Citizens.
Man City became the first team in the Champions League to lead by 3 goals until the 75th minute but could not win. It was not a nightmare, in fact the home team was equalized 3-3 and only kept 1 point at home. The 6th consecutive winless match has given Pep Guardiola's team a worsening start ahead of the big match against Liverpool this weekend.
There are many reasons to explain this series of bad matches of Man City. One of the most obvious is the lack of midfield strength. Opponents could easily penetrate the midfield of the Manchester team and only have to face a fragile defense after a storm of injuries.
One of the most trusted players in the defense, Josko Gvardiol, also made mistakes, even a lot. The Croatian centre-back made two mistakes, directly leading to two goals conceded against Tottenham in round 12 of the Premier League. He also made 2 mistakes in the 2 goals conceded against Feyenoord.
Only when they were 3 goals back did Man City wake up and put all their strength into attack. However, there is too little left time. It was not enough for Haaland or anyone else to penetrate the visitors' dense defense.
Pep Guardiola's Man City is famous for their possession-based play, but at the moment, they are doing it as badly as mid-level teams. Even Arne Slot's Liverpool are now considered masters of ball possession. Not only that, Pep's Man City is now too easy to concede. Rodri's injury and a series of defensive pillars have left a huge gap. An immediate transfer window is not enough for Pep to make a smart change.
Man City paid the price for a somewhat subjective transfer policy in the summer. The most notable signing is Savinho, who has been on the brink of missing out in this campaign against the Etihad outfit. The remaining players are versatile but not enough in terms of numbers to fill the void left by the sick soldiers. Just like that, everything is slipping away. By the time the team has all the personnel back, the gap to the championship in important races may be out of reach.
Man City may be safe in the Premier League Top 4 for a long time to come, but in the Champions League, they now have to struggle to keep one foot in the Top 8, thereby avoiding having to play the play-off to reach the quarter-finals. To do so, they must defeat Juventus, PSG and Club Brugge in turn. With his current form, no one is sure that the former champion can take all 9 absolute points.
Man City will not surrender, nor will Pep, as he has agreed to stay for another 2 years to carry out the team's transfer mission. However, ups and downs, prosperity and decline will be inevitable, that is the inevitable rule for any team. Man City has dominated Europe for many years. Now is the time for them to calm down, take a few steps back to see the wide path ahead, instead of trying to rush into the darkness as they are now.
