Manchester City cannot get out of the crisis: After the 3:3 draw against Feyenoord, the fans boo their own team. Meanwhile, a frustrated Pep Guardiola injures himself and national team star Manuel Akanji is criticized.
New territory at the Etihad Stadium. The Citizens' fans, accustomed to success, were once again unable to cheer on Tuesday and promptly showered their own team with boos and whistles after the final whistle. After five defeats in a row, the 3-3 draw against Feyenoord is the sixth game in a row in which the Sky Blues have not come away victorious.
"They are disappointed, of course we understand that. They absolutely have the right to show how they feel," said coach Pep Guardiola with understanding. The Spaniard is currently experiencing the biggest slump in results of his coaching career and is actually worried about progressing in the Premier League in the remaining three games.
Guardiola injures himself
The Spaniard even suffers physical injuries from the game, which his team let slip from their grasp after leading 3-0. After the final whistle, a wound can be seen on his nose and the Spaniard's forehead also looks badly bruised. But what happened?
From the moment the first goal was conceded, Guardiola repeatedly grabbed his head and face in frustration and apparently did so so impetuously that he injured himself with his fingernails. "I cut myself with my own nail," said the 53-year-old, explaining his appearance and joking: "I wanted to hurt myself."
The Citizens' situation is no laughing matter. According to the statistics service Opta, Guardiola has squandered a 3-0 lead for the first time in his coaching career, something that had not happened to City since 1989. The BBC calculated that the club had conceded at least two goals per game in six consecutive matches for the first time since 1963.
Criticism grows louder
ManCity have conceded a total of 17 goals in their last six games - that's almost three per game and is causing a lot of criticism on the island. England legend Alan Shearer, for example, railed to "TNT Sports": "They look weak, they look light, they look frail."
The "Guardian" described the Citizens the day after the 3:3 as a "distressed ship that could sink at any moment", the "Mirror" spoke of the "next nightmare" and the "Daily Mail" mercilessly asked: "Will they ever win again?" ahead of Sunday's thrilling clash against league leaders Liverpool.
Problematic from a Swiss perspective: In four of the six games, Manuel Akanji was the Citizens' defensive boss in the absence of Portuguese Rúben Dias. In total, City conceded thirteen goals in these four games. This inevitably raises the question of how much the 29-year-old is to blame for the current misery of the billion-pound squad.
Akanji gets his comeuppance
So far, the criticism of the Swiss in the otherwise merciless English press has been remarkably limited. This is probably also due to the Citizens' long injury list. In addition to Ballon d'Or winner Rodri and defender Rúben Dias, Mateo Kovacic and John Stones are currently missing from the defense.
However, the longer the Sky Blues' negative streak continues, the quicker Akanji's reputation is likely to crumble. In the popular highlight program "Match of the Day", the Swiss had to be the scapegoat for the first time after Saturday's defeat against Tottenham.
"Why is he letting the ball through, what on earth is he doing?" Shearer analyzed Akanji's misunderstanding with team-mate Grealish shortly before the fourth goal was conceded.
There are also numerous Citizens fans online who accuse the Swiss of lacking motivation. "Akanji has been ridiculously lazy in the last few months," wrote user "D4", for example, receiving over 1,100 likes on "X".
Whenever ManCity have a bad phase, Akanji plays as if he doesn't care, criticizes another user. In particular, his behavior when conceding the first goal against Feyenoord is now causing waves to rise again. "The way he just looked on as Ederson was rounded without doing anything was annoying."
Other supporters fear that Akanji's current slump in form could also be linked to injury. "It looks like he can't run at full speed half the time," writes one fan.
Fortunately for the Swiss: Coach Guardiola is holding back on criticizing his own players. At least in public. For the Spaniard, it is clear that the many injuries are to blame for the lack of results. He groaned on Monday: "Just give me my players back. Then you'll see Man City."
City under huge pressure in the top flight - "It will be very difficult"
Instead of climbing into the top third of the Champions League table with a win, the 2023 title winners remain in mid-table after the 3:3 draw against Feyenoord and are now in danger of missing out on qualification for the round of 16.
The next tasks are tough: In the Champions League, Guardiola and his charges have to face Juventus Turin and Paris Saint-Germain in December and January. The Sky Blues cannot afford any further slip-ups against these opponents. And things are also looking bleak in the Premier League. On Sunday, they face an away game at the sovereign leaders Liverpool FC - the gap to the Reds threatens to grow to eleven points if they lose.
"I'm not thinking about that just yet," Guardiola said after the Feyenoord disappointment, but he can certainly see the problems on the horizon. "We have to recover and prepare for the next game. If we're not able to win games like this one today, then it will be very difficult."
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