Man City manager admits his team are defensively ‘not stable’ after conceding three goals in 15 minutes in the Champions League.
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has admitted his team’s defensive failings, terming them “weak and fragile” after the English Premier League champions blew a 3-0 lead in the final 15 minutes of their UEFA Champions League match against Feyenoord to end the game on a 3-3 scoreline.
The draw on Tuesday did snap City’s five-game losing streak but did little to inspire confidence ahead of Sunday’s daunting trip to Liverpool.
City’s players were booed by their own fans as jeers rang around the stadium after the final whistle.
It is the first time City failed to win a match they led by three goals since 1989 and the first time ever it had happened in the final 15 minutes of a Champions League game.
“We concede a lot of goals because we are not stable,” said Guardiola. “We give them the first and the other ones and that is why it is difficult.”
Erling Haaland had struck twice, either side of Ilkay Gundogan’s deflected effort, to put City in a commanding position at the Etihad Stadium.
“We lost a lot of games lately. We are fragile and of course we need a victory,” added Guardiola.
Guardiola’s men have won just two of their opening five Champions League matches, leaving them work to do in upcoming away games at Juventus and Paris Saint-Germain.
City are 15th in the 36-team table with eight points, one ahead of Feyenoord in 20th place.
Liverpool already enjoy an eight-point lead over City at the top of the Premier League and Guardiola previously conceded an 11-point gap would be too much to bridge, even for a side that have won a record four consecutive English top-flight titles.
1 – For the first time in what was the 942nd game of his managerial career, Pep Guardiola has seen his side fail to win a match after leading by three goals. Remarkable. pic.twitter.com/1Ehm11ax8D
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) November 26, 2024
“Rest one or two days, clear the head mentally, and think of the next [game],” said Guardiola when asked how he would respond.
However, amid the worst losing streak of his career, Guardiola is more determined than ever to stick to the plan.
“What should I change?” he asked. “We are not going to change our beliefs. We are big believers in the process and the fundamentals that we have to do.
“In this moment we have to go more direct to our principles. Don’t change much – less than ever.”
