Three objectives up, having restricted Feyenoord to a handful of potshots, Manchester Metropolis might hardly have been extra comfy as Tuesday’s sport entered the ultimate quarter of an hour.
After the run of 5 consecutive defeats which had thrown their season into turmoil, it appeared Pep Guardiola’s facet have been taking a useful step to getting again on monitor, simply in time for his or her Premier League showdown with leaders Liverpool on Tremendous Sunday.
The Manchester Metropolis supervisor’s confidence was such that he had simply made a triple change, withdrawing Nathan Ake, Ilkay Gundogan and Phil Foden for some hard-earned relaxation and giving minutes to Kevin De Bruyne, James McAtee and Jahmai Simpson-Pusey.
Sunday 1st December 3:30pm
Kick off 4:00pm
An uneventful conclusion beckoned.
Or not less than that is the way it felt.
As an alternative, a bewildering 15-minute collapse, the most recent by any facet with a three-goal lead within the historical past of the Champions League, a contest Metropolis received solely final 12 months, means they may head to Anfield on the again of their most painful outcome but.
And that’s saying one thing coming three days after the heaviest residence lack of Guardiola’s profession in opposition to Tottenham.
Gvardiol presents Feyenoord their first
All of it modified immediately.
And as in opposition to Spurs on Saturday, it began with a Josko Gvardiol error.
De Bruyne and Gvardiol look dejected in the course of the sport
Simpson-Pusey’s header, after Manuel Akanji had half cleared an tried lengthy move, was awkward for the Croatia worldwide, who had Feyenoord forwards making use of stress both facet of him, however he nonetheless ought to have been in a position to take care of it.
As an alternative, his horribly-misjudged pass-back looped agonisingly into the trail of Anis Hadj-Moussa, who received there effectively earlier than the stranded Ederson, to the touch the ball across the goalkeeper and slide residence a sensible end from an acute angle.
Anis Hadj-Moussa slides the primary objective into the online after beating Ederson
It was the most recent in a collection of expensive defensive errors from Gvardiol, who was at fault for Spurs’ second objective in addition to their opener.
Quickly, what checked out first like a comfort objective for the guests got here to mark the beginning of an epic collapse.
Metropolis swap off as deficit minimize
Seven minutes later, the deficit was minimize to at least one objective and the alarm bells have been ringing loudly.
Metropolis had eight defenders both in or simply exterior their penalty space when Igor Paixao obtained Hwang In-Beom’s move close to the right-hand nook of the field and but each gamers discovered ample area.
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Ben Ransom is joined by Adam Bate to analyse Manchester Metropolis’s collapse in opposition to Feyenoord
McAtee was too late in getting the proper facet of the latter, whereas Bernardo Silva’s try and cease the previous’s cross was half-hearted, giving him the liberty he wanted to elevate a diagonal supply in direction of the far put up, the place Metropolis have been disorganised.
Gvardiol had been late to identify Quinten Timber over his shoulder, whereas, on the surface, Matheus Nunes failed to trace Jordan Lotomba altogether, permitting the right-back, who had come on instead solely 10 minutes earlier, to volley the ball in direction of objective from close to the byline.
Santiago Gimenez had the straightforward process of chesting the ball over the road
Santiago Gimenez celebrates scoring Feyenoord’s second objective
At his close to put up, Ederson appeared to be caught off-guard, protruding a leg and sending the ball crashing off the upright and throughout objective, the place a sleeping Akanji had left the unmarked Santiago Gimenez with the simple process of chesting the ball over the road.
Ederson errs once more as Feyenoord degree
Metropolis appeared shell-shocked at this level.
Feyenoord, in the meantime, clearly sensed their alternative.
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Tim Sherwood could not imagine the ‘capitulation’ of Manchester Metropolis in opposition to Feyenoord
Their third objective was in all probability the worst of the lot from a defensive perspective, coming because it did from a Hadj-Moussa ball excessive from an innocuous place, 10 yards inside his personal half close to the right-hand touchline.
Within the penultimate minute of regular time, needing to easily play it secure and see out the closing phases, Metropolis have been as an alternative pushed up in direction of the midway line. Their ragged line of defense was gleefully exploited.
Hadj-Moussa might have aimed his move in direction of any one in all 4 Feyenoord runners, however it was Paixao he discovered. Ederson got here steaming out of his field in an try and clear the hazard however received nowhere close to it.
Ederson is overwhelmed to the ball by Feyenoord’s Igor Paixao within the build-up to the third objective
The winger, like Hadj-Moussa earlier than him, had quite a few targets to goal for together with his subsequent cross. Hwang, Gimenez and Timber have been all racing into the field untracked, with Metropolis gamers far too sluggish to get again.
Ultimately, Paixao picked the onrushing left-back David Hancko, who had sprinted freely into the field from the other flank to satisfy his team-mate’s cross with a straightforward headed end, sparking jubilant Feyenoord celebrations and guaranteeing their surprised hosts hit a brand new low.
David Hancko heads the equaliser previous Rico Lewis
Hancko had run untracked from contained in the Feyenoord half
Hancko wheels away in celebration after his objective
Man Metropolis pushed again into the mire
Guardiola was at a loss to clarify the collapse afterwards.
“The game was good for the confidence, we were playing at a good level, and then when the first thing happens, we have problems,” he mentioned.
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Pep Guardiola says Manchester Metropolis’s lack of a three-goal result in Feyenoord to attract 3-3 within the Champions League was ‘troublesome to swallow’
He bemoaned a scarcity of focus. “It’s not about not running or no commitment, but in football you have to be [switched on] in certain moments to do it.”
Metropolis, as soon as once more, the place discovered wanting in these moments and the errors proceed to stack up.
Man Metropolis’s defensive ‘errors resulting in objectives’ depend on the rise
Based on Opta, they’ve already made extra errors resulting in objectives than in the entire of final season. They’re greater than midway to matching final season’s complete for errors resulting in pictures.
They continue to be obviously susceptible to fast, direct assaults however Feyenoord’s three objectives all got here in several circumstances, underlining the size of Metropolis’s issues proper now.
Fail to stamp out the problems at Anfield on Sunday and this extraordinary run is more likely to proceed. This was a draw that felt like a loss and leaves their season liable to imploding.
