Manchester City looks mentally fragile and that’s a huge concern | OneFootball

For an hour of their 3-all draw with Feyenoord, Manchester City looked to have rediscovered their form. They held a 3-goal lead and looked to have put the Eredivisie side away comfortably. But that lead wouldn’t last. A disastrous final 15 minutes saw Feyenoord fight from 3 goals down to two and claim a 3-all draw.

The visitors deserve credit for their fight back. But watching Pep Guardiola’s side crumble you got the sense that there is a fragility to this City side. Be it defensively and mentally, or both, it is costing them. As soon as Josko Gvardiol’s error allowed Anis Hadj Moussa to make it 3-1 in the 75th minute you could sense what was coming. The moment it became 3-2 after Santiago Gimenez scored in the 82nd minute for Feyenoord you knew what was coming. 7 minutes later, David Hencko made it 3-all, and the inevitable had occurred. By the time the final whistle came the mental fragility of Pep Guardiola’s side was clear to see. It is now a massive challenge for Guardiola to lift his side out of this funk.

As soon as Josko Gvardiol’s back pass was seized upon by Anis Hadj Moussa City’s mental fragility revealed itself. There was no leadership shown by any of the Manchester City leaders on the pitch. Once Feyenoord’s goal went in it was the time for Pep Guardiola’s side to sit back and dig in. Instead, they didn’t and left too many holes at the back. Feyenoord were buoyed by their goal and went at the world champions. They got their reward with their late salvo. But as to why it happened that’s one of Manchester City’s biggest concerns right now.

READ MORE: City player ratings from Manchester City’s frustrating 3-all draw with Feyenoord.

Josko Gvardiol’s errors and some poor keeping from Ederson contributed to City squandering their lead. But at 3-1, the 3-all draw shouldn’t have happened. But it’s becoming common to see Pep Guardiola’s side see one error become two or three and cost them dearly. It happened against Tottenham last Saturday. This trait revealed itself again tonight. It’s now becoming a defining feature of City’s winless run that has now stretched to 6 games.

Perhaps it’s a lack of leadership on the pitch. You wouldn’t imagine this happening with Rodri or Ruben Dias on the pitch. They would have immediately brought a sense of calm to proceedings after Feyenoord’s first goal. But they aren’t on the pitch currently. It’s on others to step up. Josko Gvardiol and Manuel Akanji are experienced enough to know how to handle such situations. But against Feyenoord, they didn’t. There’s no excuse for that from them or any other of City’s experienced players.

Manchester City look short of confidence. Their mentality is such at the moment that as soon as one thing goes against them, everything crumbles. That is unheard of for Pep Guardiola’s side. But that’s the reality of the current situation.

Manchester City’s lack of strength concerns Pep Guardiola.

Speaking after his team’s late collapse Pep Guardiola was at a loss to explain what happened. He believed his team’s lack of strength cost them. He explained: “It’s difficult to swallow right now. The game was good, we scored three and we could have scored more. At the end we are not stable enough to do it. We did a good game but then we were not able to control the last minutes. We have to accept it for many circumstances. The team was so committed in many things. It happened today. We are not able to win games. As a team, we have always found a way to win games. Right now, after 3-0, other situations, it’s as if nothing happened. We could not score the fourth or fifth. Unfortunately something happened and we were not strong enough and we have to avoid the mistakes.  Everybody knows the situation. We have to prepare and recover. Have a day off.”

Mentally Manchester City are fragile. Their defence is suffering from a similar issue. It needs to be rectified and fast. With a trip to Anfield awaiting the world champions on Sunday, they have to overcome their demons and quickly. That is no simple task based on City’s past 6 games. But to turn their season around they must be overcome. Otherwise, this season may slip away. That’s a big statement to make in November but that’s the reality of the situation Manchester City are facing currently.