Manchester City’s defensive issues continue as vulnerabilities at the back cost them crucial points, raising concerns for Pep Guardiola’s side.
Pep Guardiola described his Manchester City team as “fragile” after they were criticized for being “weak” and “frail,” following their collapse from a 3-0 lead against Feyenoord in the Champions League at Etihad Stadium.
Instead of traveling to Liverpool buoyed by a morale-boosting victory, the defending Premier League champions will face their title rivals at Anfield on Sunday under increased scrutiny regarding their defense following a 3-3 draw.
For the first time since May 1963, City has allowed two or more goals in six consecutive matches across all competitions.
Moreover, they appear to have lost the ability to secure a win, even from dominant positions.
When Erling Haaland slid in to give them a 3-0 lead in the 53rd minute against Feyenoord, the hosts seemed poised to break their string of five consecutive defeats and get back on track.
However, the 2023 European Cup winners inexplicably squandered two points and were met with boos from the crowd as they left the pitch at full time.
Former England captain Alan Shearer, speaking at Etihad Stadium for Amazon Prime, commented that they appear weak, light, and frail.
Even with only two minutes remaining and a 3-2 lead, they decided to take a quick free-kick. Why? They should have just run down the clock. They were in such a comfortable position.
City has not kept a clean sheet since October 26, when they secured their last victory with a narrow 1-0 win against the struggling Southampton team.
Since then, they have conceded 17 goals in six matches, a staggering statistic given that their success under Guardiola has been rooted in strong defensive foundations.
“I can’t say for sure whether it’s a mental issue,” remarked Guardiola, who was so exasperated with his team’s performance that he ended up scratching his own face.
The game was going well at 3-0, and we were playing effectively. However, our stability faltered, leading to us conceding several goals. We allowed the first one in and then another followed, which made things challenging for us.
“The situation is as it stands. We played well, but at that level we can’t afford to give anything away.”
City must put in some effort to avoid facing a two-legged play-off in February for advancing to the last 16.
To secure an automatic spot in the knockout stage, they must place in the top eight. However, following Tuesday’s game, they are currently ranked 15th and could drop even further after Wednesday’s matches.
City will face challenging matches against Juventus on December 11 and Paris St-Germain on January 22 in the competition before hosting Club Brugge on January 29.
“At the moment, I’m not prepared to consider needing to win our final three games to finish in the top eight,” Guardiola added.
We need to recuperate and get ready for the next game. If we can’t win games like today’s, it’s going to be tough moving forward.
BBC
