Three-nil up after 75 minutes, a late horror show ceded the advantage as Feyenoord prayed on their nerves via Anis Hadj Moussa, Santiago Giménez and David Hancko who drew Feyenoord level.
After five consecutive losses, a canter of a win was on the cards that would have made life for Pep Guardiola and his players feel far brighter ahead of the champions next challenge: Sunday's trip to Anfield to take on Liverpool. But after City's shaky finish here, they will hardly relish the trip to Arne Slot's leaders.
Feyenoord, who arrived as the Eredivisie's fourth-placed side, had appeared beaten by two Erling Haaland strikes and one from Ilkay Gündogan. All came after the interval as Guardiola discarded the narrow 4-3-3 that proved toothless against Ange Postecoglu's Tottenham for a 4-2-3-1 that, in the opening 45 minutes, still allowed gaps and was profligate.
The bigger picture, though, is that Rodri remains badly missed. Hadj Moussa and Giménez's 75th- and 82nd-minute strikes each came due to Josko Gvardiol losing his calm and unloading sloppy passes, while Ederson was at fault for rushing out for the visitors' equaliser.
To face Feyenoord, Guardiola dropped Kyle Walker and Savinho from Saturday's 4-0 humbling by Spurs. In came Matheus Nunes and Jack Grealish, with Nathan Aké retained after replacing the injured John Stones.
Denne historien er fra November 27, 2024-utgaven av The Guardian.
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Denne historien er fra November 27, 2024-utgaven av The Guardian.
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