 "Manager Pep Guardiola revealed the reason behind scratches on his face following Manchester City's 3-3 draw against Feyenoord in the UEFA Champions League. AP / Screengrab")
Manchester City endured a difficult outing in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday following a frustrating 3-3 draw against Dutch outfit Feyenoord , a result which left manager Pep Guardiola with cuts and scratches on his face. That draw extended Manchester City’s winless run to six matches across all competitions, having last beaten Southampton 1-0 in the Premier League on 26 October.
City had taken a 3-0 lead against Feyenoord on Tuesday, but squandered that advantage by letting in as many goals in the last 15 minutes of the game. Goalkeeper Ederson and defender Josko Gvardiol were largely responsible for City’s defensive errors on Tuesday.
‘I want to harm myself’
When asked about the cuts and scratches on his face at the post-match press conference, Guardiola admitted to wanting to harm himself. “Yes, it’s my finger here. With my nail. I want to harm myself," he said.
Manchester City came into this match on the back of a 0-4 defeat to Tottenham in the Premier League . That was City’s fifth successive loss across all competitions and it is for the first time in his managerial career that Guardiola has lost five successive matches with a club.
This is also for the first time since 2006 that City have lost five consecutive matches across competitions. Guardiola admitted that City are an unstable team at the moment. “We are not stable. We give them the first and the other ones so that’s why it’s difficult,” the Spaniard told Amazon Prime Sport.
“We’ve lost a lot of games lately. We are fragile and we needed a victory. The game was good for the confidence. We played at a good level but something happened and then we had problems.
“I don’t know if it’s mental. The first goal cannot happen and the second as well. We are desperate to win and do well but we don’t win games. The situation is what it is,” he added.
The draw against Feyenoord leaves Manchester City in 15th place in the Champions League with eight points from five games. In the Premier League, City are in second place with 23 points from 12 games, eight points behind leaders Liverpool (31 points from 12 games).
Manchester City and Liverpool go head-to-head in the Premier League at Anfield on Sunday (1 December).
A timeline of Manchester City’s results since 1-0 win vs Southampton on 26 October
30 October: Lost 2-1 to Tottenham in League Cup fourth round
2 November: Lost 2-1 to Bournemouth in Premier League
5 November: Lost 4-1 to Sporting CP in Champions League
9 November: Lost 2-1 to Brighton in Premier League
23 November: Lost 4-0 to Tottenham in Premier League
26 November: Drew 3-3 against Feyenoord in Champions League