Manchester City's 3-3 draw with Feyenoord in the Champions League has extended their stunning winless run to six matches across competitions and that seems to be taking a toll on manager Pep Guardiola. The Spaniard was ragged with frustration as he saw his side squander a 3-0 lead to the Dutch side, who are just fourth in their domestic league and, more worryingly, appeared in his media interactions after the match with several cuts on his head.
Asked about those marks, Guardiola said: “Yeah, my finger. Here,” as he performed a rapid downward motion along his nose. “My nail.” Then he added with a smile: “I want to harm myself.” It was the closing question of the press conference and the reporter who asked the question can then be heard saying, "It'll be okay" as Guardiola walked off.
Here is a clip of the exchange:
Considered one of the greatest managers of all time, Guardiola is experiencing the worst run of his career. City had lost five straight games in all competitions before the draw against Feyenoord, a first for a team coached by Guardiola. It is also the first time that any team coached by Guardiola has failed to win a match after taking a 3-0 lead. No team in the Champions League had ever lost a three-goal lead as late as the 75th minute and failed to win the game, stats supplier Opta said.
{{/usCountry}}Considered one of the greatest managers of all time, Guardiola is experiencing the worst run of his career. City had lost five straight games in all competitions before the draw against Feyenoord, a first for a team coached by Guardiola. It is also the first time that any team coached by Guardiola has failed to win a match after taking a 3-0 lead. No team in the Champions League had ever lost a three-goal lead as late as the 75th minute and failed to win the game, stats supplier Opta said.
{{/usCountry}}The result also means that City finish November with no wins. Their horror run started with a 2-1 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur which knocked them out of the Carrabao Cup in the round of 16 on October 31. After that, they lost 2-1 to Bournemouth in the Premier League and 4-1 to Sporting Lisbon in the Champions League before suffering back-to-back Premier League defeats against Brighton and Hove Albion (2-1) and Tottenham again (4-0).
City now face a trip to Anfield to face the Liverpool side of former Feyenoord boss Arne Slot, whose named was chanted by the visiting fans during the match. “Everybody knows the situation, I don’t have to add absolutely anything,” Guardiola said. “We are going to train tomorrow, recovery and prepare the next game. Day off and we have two or three days to prepare that and go for it. We will learn for the future and what has been has been. “It will be a tough season for us and we have to accept it for many circumstances.” Feyenoord’s late fightback brought jubilant scenes in the away end.