Manchester City’s winless streak surprisingly extended to six games on Tuesday, taking a 3-0 lead and setting up a 3-3 draw with Feyenoord in the UEFA Champions League. In the process, City became the first team in UCL history to fail to win a match after taking a three-goal lead in the 75th minute, according to Opta.
Although they didn’t look exactly like their vintage selves in the 75th minute, City did everything they could to claim a 3-0 lead. The scoreline reflected their dominance, with fourteen shots taken and seven on target, while Feyenoord were limited to two shots on frame at the time. Erling Haaland was ready to be the story of the match with his brace, making him the fastest player to score 50 goals in the history of the Champions League.
However, Anis Hadj-Moussa’s goal in the 76th minute was much more than a consolation for Feyenoord. It was both the spark that allowed the visitors to score twice more in thirteen minutes thanks to Santiago Gimenez and David Hancko, and a reminder of how many things have gone off the rails for City.
You can easily trace City’s downward spiral back to September, when Ballon d’Or winner Rodri tore his cruciate ligament. It had long been clear that the midfielder was the glue that tied Pep Guardiola’s tactical strategy together, and it was also clear that the team would miss him as they sought a fifth consecutive Premier League title and their first Champions League title. League title since 2023. Two months since his injury and six games into the longest winless run of Guardiola’s career, however, it is also clear that their misery is not entirely due to Rodri’s absence.
City have become somewhat wasteful in front of goal this season, going the wrong way in several ways this season. While their expected goals average remains steady at 2.2 per game, they averaged more goals last season (2.6) than this time (2.0), despite taking fewer shots per game (18.7 to 20 ,2). Their reduced production in attack has reduced the margins of their victory, reducing the high-scoring tendencies that have made them such a dominant side and change over the past decade.
Guardiola’s side are also surprisingly reliant on Haaland, whose 15 goals make up 38% of City’s goals so far this season. His 38 goals last season only accounted for 26% of City’s goals, and he was far from the only one to score big numbers last season. PFA Player of the Year Phil Foden scored 27 times in all competitions, while Julian Alvarez netted 19 times before moving to Atletico Madrid this summer. While Haaland is scoring at a similar rate to last season, Foden has scored just three goals in all competitions so far this season and City have done little to replace Alvarez.
City’s slowdown in attack has been exacerbated by their declining defensive prowess in recent weeks. They have conceded 18 goals during their six-match winless run, seven of which came in the last few days alone if you include their 4-0 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday. They’ve made sloppy individual mistakes that are now starting to pile up. City are now averaging 1.4 goals conceded per game, a significant increase on the 0.9 goals conceded they conceded last season, which also included a month-long injury spell for the first-choice side. goalkeeper Ederson.
Rodri may be undeniably City’s best player, but it feels unfair to attribute the decline solely to his absence, even though it plays a major role. Given the composition of the squad and the apparent refusal to renew the squad in the summer, it felt as if this season would be something of a last dance for Guardiola’s dominant but aging side. However, the bet on extending the glory days for another year is that this particular version of City may have been closer to the end than originally expected.
Guardiola being Guardiola, there is still a chance he can find tactical solutions to get out of this mess. They may be eight points behind Liverpool in the title race, but that’s not exactly irreversible at this stage of the season and they are still in a strong position to progress to the next round in the Champions League. City being City, they can also lure any player they want to Manchester if they think that’s the quickest solution.
Whatever the solutions, time to find them is slowly running out. Sunday’s match against Liverpool will provide another progress report on City’s state, but their six-match winless run proves Guardiola’s side are struggling in all kinds of games, not just the big ones. This poor form is a clear sign that Guardiola’s City as we know it may no longer work, signaling the end of an era.