Premier League
Manchester City Fans Furious: Feyenoord Collapse Adds To Etihad Misery
Manchester City are accustomed to shattering records, but this time it was for unfortunate reasons in the Champions League on Tuesday.
City had lost their last five matches across all competitions, the worst run of form in all of boss Pep Guardiola’s managerial career.
It is ironic, then, that the 53-year-old Spaniard chose to sign a new two-year contract with the club just four games into this disappointing stretch of results.
At least the slump was halted with this hard-fought 3-3 result but at the cost of throwing away a three-goal lead against Feyenoord. Three goals conceded in the last 15 minutes had the fans booing at the final whistle with quite a few making their feelings known towards the departing players.
With leaders Liverpool as their next opponent this weekend, can City fans believe their team is back on track? If they lose that match, they will find themselves 11 points behind the Reds. Even at this early stage of the Premier League season, Guardiola has openly acknowledged that such a gap would be too significant to overcome.
On this performance, the last team they want to be playing next is Liverpool. Having found their goalscoring form their fragility under pressure still needs to be addressed.
City fans aren’t typically the most vocal, but they certainly put in more effort during the first half as their team faced blocked and saved chances. I did catch the occasional shout urging the players to push forward as City sought an opening.
Suddenly, the team’s patient style of play was beginning to test the fans’ patience.
The noisy traveling fans played on the nervousness of the home support by chanting the name of Liverpool and former Feyenoord boss Arne Slot. That provoked a reaction from the Etihad!
The crucial breakthrough came just before halftime when Erling Haaland was awarded a controversial penalty, which Feyenoord keeper Timon Wellenreuther protested vehemently.
Haaland had to wait a moment before striking confidently from 12 yards, eliciting a roar of relief from the Etihad crowd, despite the Norwegian international appearing somewhat hesitant beforehand.
After 18 trophies in his eight full seasons at City plus the historic Treble as recently as 2023, it seemed ridiculous to be talking of a team and manager in crisis but it is precisely because of this stellar record that the current form is unprecedented.
But two quick goals at the start of the second half from Ilkay Gundogan and Haaland saw Guardiola spend more time on the bench rather than prowling the technical area looking mostly frustrated for the first half.
Sloppiness at the back allowed the visitors back into the game through Anis Hadj Moussa and Guardiola was again a visible presence.
Given their current form, even a two-goal lead quickly became a concern as Feyenoord pulled one back, prompting some boos to emerge from the home supporters.
As Sir Alex Ferguson once famously said it was “squeaky bum” time. And so it proved to be. Two more goals had Feyenoord level and the fans fuming at the final whistle.
For Guardiola, it likely felt as if his luck had finally changed. While no one questions the quality of his players, it is now their character that is coming under scrutiny.
