A season that started with optimism following Manchester City’s 2-0 comfortable win away at Chelsea in the opening weekend of the Premier League has quickly unravelled. City are out of sorts. The team has fallen apart in recent weeks losing five games in a row in all competitions.
After the 4-0 drubbing at the Etihad Stadium by Tottenham, the team was finally expected to bounce back against Eredivisie side Feyenoord. Everything seems to be going according to plan after Erling Haaland scored from the penalty spot. The Norwegian angrily slammed the ball back into the net after the goal had already been scored as if to say “it’s about time to end this nightmare.”
City went on to score two more goals. At 3-0, even the most optimistic Feyenoord fan would be forgiven for thinking it was all over. Except that what followed was an unprecedented meltdown from the Blues.
To lose 4-0 to Tottenham is one thing. But to throw away a three-goal lead in the Champions League against a significantly weaker opposition is something else. And that too in the last 15 minutes of the encounter.
As the match commentator said, “We are seeing things we never thought we would see happen to Manchester City.” This is difficult to explain. It’s not simply a matter of some players being out injured. The lineup was strong enough to see out a win against the Dutch outfit.
Watching the match, Newcastle United legend Alan Shearer could not believe his eyes. Speaking on City’s collapse, the former striker was shocked at City’s naivety.
“Conceding the way they did at the weekend [a 4-0 loss to Tottenham], three again this evening; They look weak, they look light, they look frail,” Shearer stated.
“They’ve given the opposition too many chances. They were cruising midway through this game, whatever you do, what you cannot do is give the opposition chances, give them a little bit of hope and that’s exactly what they did. Even when they were winning 3-2 with three minutes to go they tried to take a quick free-kick. Why? Kill the game. You’re winning the game there’s no need to do that. Sit on the ball.
“The game management was awful and they’ve been punished. It’s been an absolute disaster for them this season after being in such a comfortable position.”
The last few weeks have been a real disaster for City. While injuries have played a part, they have never affected any Pep Guardiola team this way in the past. The Catalan manager always manages the situation expertly to cope with any situation.
So has something fundamentally broken behind the scenes? Or could this just be a rough patch the team will ride out to emerge stronger?
Hopefully, the situation is brought under control before damage becomes irreparable.