City Xtra
·26 November 2024
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Yahoo sportsCity Xtra
·26 November 2024
Manchester City end their five-game losing streak with a 3-3 draw after being 3-0 up at the Etihad Stadium against Feyenoord on Tuesday night.
An Erling Haaland brace and a deflected strike from Ilkay Gundogan gave the Blues the lead before conceding three goals in the last 15 minutes. It was a slow start for Pep Guardiola’s side as they looked to avoid a sixth consecutive defeat.
But an Erling Haaland header tipped onto the post provided the Manchester City fans with some hope of a positive result at the Etihad. The Blues were starting to play with confidence and Phil Foden had his first real involvement with a low effort forced away by Wellenreuther.
Despite dominance in possession, the visitors would have felt they should have taken the lead when Paxao was played through but could not lift the ball over the oncoming Ederson. Minutes before the end of the first half, City took the lead with Haaland converting from the spot.
It was the Norwegian himself who won the penalty after he was struck in a scramble on the six-yard line. Pep Guardiola will have been happy to go in at half time with the lead after a dull and cautious opening 45 minutes from Manchester City.
The Catalan’s team talk was clearly a strong one as former captain Ilkay Gundogan doubled City’s lead. A strike from outside of the crowded penalty area went through the legs of a defender and deflected in past the goalkeeper.
Shortly after, and Haaland scored his second of the night at the end of a swift counter attack to establish Manchester City’s control of the game. Guardiola had his head in his hands however, as Josko Gvardiol’s header back to Ederson was intercepted and Hadj Moussa tapped the ball into an empty net.
The visitors found a second from what seemed like nowhere just minutes after the first with Santiago Giminez chesting the ball in off the line. A ball was played across the penalty area between Ederson and the post for the substitute to tap in.
Things went from bad to worse for Manchester City as another error led to the equaliser and Hancko headed into an open net in the 89th minute. Thankfully for the Cityzens, City hung on for the draw and the five0game losing streak ended with a dramatic 3-3 draw.
Pep Guardiola’s team will now travel to Anfield on Sunday afternoon to face top of the league Liverpool in a huge clash in terms of importance for both sides. But before then, here is how we rated the Manchester City players’ performances from Tuesday night.
Starting XI
Ederson – 5.5
Couldn’t do anything about their first but should have stopped the ball going across goal for the second. Got beat to the ball for the third.
Rico Lewis – 6.5
Provided the energy in midfield and was okay defensively.
Manuel Akanji – 6.5
Solid at the back. Did his job well.
Nathan Ake – 6.5
Unlucky not to score in the first half. Defended well.
Josko Gvardiol – 3
Came forward to help Jack Grealish and create overloads. His poor back pass lead to their goal.
Ilkay Gundogan – 7.5
Fortunate his strike went in and played a key through ball in the build-up to the third goal.
Bernardo Silva (C) – 7
Effective around the box and worked nicely on the right side.
Matheus Nunes – 7
Confident when driving forward and played a great ball for Erling Haaland’s second goal.
Jack Grealish – 6.5
Still coming to fitness after his long spell out. Struggled to make an impact in the final third.
Phil Foden – 6.5
Always in pockets and looking to create. Didn’t receive much of the ball however.
Erling Haaland – 9
Strong performance from him and was very effective in the box. Great intelligence to make the run for his second goal.
Substitutes
Jahmai Simpson-Pusey – 4.5
Conceded three goals after his introduction.
James McAtee – 5
Failed to grasp the game and City lost control of the game.
Kevin De Bruyne – 7
Creative genius as always and looked a threat every time he got the ball.