MANCHESTER - (l-r) Ilkay Gundogan of Manchester City FC, Kevin de Bruyne of Manchester City FC during the UEFA Champions league match between Manchester City FC and Feyenoord at Etihad Stadium on Nov. 26, 2024 in Manchester, England. ANP | Hollandse Hoogte | GERRIT VAN KEULEN (Photo by ANP via Getty Images)
Ilkay Gundogan and Kevin De Bruyne
Manchester City have not hidden away from their troubles this week when it would have been easy to.
Vice-captain Kevin De Bruyne was picked as the player to front up in a press conference before the Feyenoord game, with the veteran midfielder honest about where he thought the team were struggling in their five-game losing run and why there were still positives to takes. Having also diffused any potential story in his contract situation, De Bruyne struck exactly the right tone and spoke with the honesty of somebody who admitted the team were 'not good enough' but the experience of a player who has been through enough to know that things will change.
That should have set the tone for a comfortable home win, yet an unbelievable collapse saw the Dutch side come from 3-0 down with 15 minutes to go to claim a draw. The mixed zone where reporters wait for players after matches is usually a lonely place after bad results, yet just as it was thinning out along came Ilkay Gundogan to offer his thoughts on the situation.
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City did not have to put up somebody as high-profile as De Bruyne before the game and Gundogan did not have to stop after a game that he said felt like a defeat. It is to the credit of all that they did speak and it gives City fans (and the media) a better understanding of how the squad are feeling.
Gundogan hit the nail on the head for many when he said the goals they were conceding were all easily explained but their situation - how they were finding themselves in such a position - was inexplicable. Wednesday night provided the starkest evidence yet that City's players can still talk a good game, but playing one is tougher than ever.
As much calm as the senior leaders have added to the team around the games, on the pitch they look headless when things go wrong. City are collapsing, conceding multiple goals in a short space of time and nobody appears able to pull them back from oblivion once their course is plotted.
Again, injuries aren't helping: think of how commanding Ruben Dias is at the back when fit, or Rodri stopping playing at the Euros when he felt that his Spain teammates were rushing rather than sticking to their natural game. City's captain on Wednesday was Bernardo Silva, as the four captains above him in the ranking were all on the bench or absent.
It does show another strength that has become a weakness for City though, with a team famed for having leaders all over the pitch now unable to keep their organisation and discipline in the tough moments. However reassuring the captains can be, they need to start getting their message across better at those crunch points.