Three targets up, having restricted Feyenoord to a handful of potshots, Manchester Metropolis might hardly have been extra snug as Tuesday’s recreation 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 had 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 a minimum of that is the way it felt.
As an alternative, a bewildering 15-minute collapse, the newest 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’ll head to Anfield on the again of their most painful end result but.
And that’s saying one thing coming three days after the heaviest house lack of Guardiola’s profession in opposition to Tottenham.
Gvardiol items Feyenoord their first
All of it modified instantly.
And as in opposition to Spurs on Saturday, it began with a Josko Gvardiol error.
De Bruyne and Gvardiol look dejected through the recreation
Simpson-Pusey’s header, after Manuel Akanji had half cleared an tried lengthy go, was awkward for the Croatia worldwide, who had Feyenoord forwards making use of strain both facet of him, however he nonetheless ought to have been in a position to cope with it.
As an alternative, his horribly-misjudged pass-back looped agonisingly into the trail of Anis Hadj-Moussa, who bought there effectively earlier than the stranded Ederson, to the touch the ball across the goalkeeper and slide house a wise end from an acute angle.
Anis Hadj-Moussa slides the primary purpose into the web after beating Ederson
It was the newest in a collection of pricey defensive errors from Gvardiol, who was at fault for Spurs’ second purpose in addition to their opener.
Quickly, what checked out first like a comfort purpose for the guests got here to mark the beginning of an epic collapse.
Metropolis change off as deficit lower
Seven minutes later, the deficit was lower to at least one purpose and the alarm bells had been ringing loudly.
Metropolis had eight defenders both in or simply exterior their penalty space when Igor Paixao acquired Hwang In-Beom’s go close to the right-hand nook of the field and but each gamers discovered ample house.
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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 fitting facet of the latter, whereas Bernardo Silva’s try to cease the previous’s cross was half-hearted, giving him the liberty he wanted to raise a diagonal supply in the direction of the far submit, the place Metropolis had been disorganised.
Gvardiol had been late to identify Quinten Timber over his shoulder, whereas, on the skin, Matheus Nunes failed to trace Jordan Lotomba altogether, permitting the right-back, who had come on in its place solely 10 minutes earlier, to volley the ball in the direction of purpose from close to the byline.
Santiago Gimenez had the easy process of chesting the ball over the road
Santiago Gimenez celebrates scoring Feyenoord’s second purpose
At his close to submit, Ederson appeared to be caught off-guard, protruding a leg and sending the ball crashing off the upright and throughout purpose, 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 stage
Metropolis appeared shell-shocked at this level.
Feyenoord, in the meantime, clearly sensed their alternative.
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Tim Sherwood could not consider the ‘capitulation’ of Manchester Metropolis in opposition to Feyenoord
Their third purpose was most likely 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 protected and see out the closing levels, Metropolis had been as an alternative pushed up in the direction of the midway line. Their ragged defensive position was gleefully exploited.
Hadj-Moussa might have aimed his go in the direction of any one in every of 4 Feyenoord runners, but it surely was Paixao he discovered. Ederson got here steaming out of his field in an try to clear the hazard however bought nowhere close to it.
Ederson is crushed to the ball by Feyenoord’s Igor Paixao within the build-up to the third purpose
The winger, like Hadj-Moussa earlier than him, had quite a few targets to purpose for together with his subsequent cross. Hwang, Gimenez and Timber had been all racing into the field untracked, with Metropolis gamers far too gradual to get again.
In the long run, Paixao picked the onrushing left-back David Hancko, who had sprinted freely into the field from the other flank to fulfill his team-mate’s cross with a simple headed end, sparking jubilant Feyenoord celebrations and making certain 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 purpose
Man Metropolis pushed again into the mire
Guardiola was at a loss to elucidate 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 ‘tough 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 targets’ rely on the rise
In line with Opta, they’ve already made extra errors resulting in targets than in the entire of final season. They’re greater than midway to matching final season’s complete for errors resulting in photographs.
They continue to be obviously susceptible to fast, direct assaults however Feyenoord’s three targets 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 prone to imploding.
