Pep Guardiola’s clarification after addressing face scratches and cuts after Man City’s draw vs Feyenoord

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Manchester City blew a 3-0 lead in their latest Champions League match to end up drawing 3-3 with Feyenoord.

A brace from Erling Haaland and one goal from Ilkay Gundogan had City in cruise control 53 minutes into the second half at the Etihad Stadium on Tuesday night.

Then within a 14-minute window, the Blues conceded a trio of goals in what ended up being another disheartening match for the Manchester club following a very poor run of form and results across all competitions.

After the match, Pep Guardiola found himself being asked a rather unusual question about his appearance after seeing his side blow what would have been a much-needed victory.

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Pep Guardiola addresses facial cuts and scratches after Man City vs Feyenoord

During his post-match press conference, the Catalan was seen to have various cuts and scratches on his nose and forehead.

A journalist then asked what the explanation was for these marks, to which Guardiola gave this response.

He said: “With my finger, yeah, with my nail.”

The City manager then added with a wry smile: “I want to harm myself, yeah.”

This has since led to Guardiola sharing a statement on his official X account clarifying that he didn’t mean to make light of such a serious topic.

Guardiola must be stressed by City’s form

Prior to the Feyenoord game, Guardiola had seen his City team win five games on the bounce across all competitions, conceding 14 goals in the process.

Taking that on board, it’d be safe to assume that the 53-year-old is feeling the stresses of what has been a dismal run of form from his side who are aiming to win more trophies this season.

Guardiola also discussed City’s draw, saying this about his team’s efforts and how they ended up throwing away a three-goal lead.

He said: “The game was fine at 3-0, playing good, but then we concede a lot of goals because we were not stable. We gave them the first and then the other one, that is why it was difficult.

“We lost a lot of games lately, we are fragile and of course, we needed a victory, the game was good for the confidence. We were playing at a good level but the first time something happened we had problems.

“I don’t know if it is mental. The first goal cannot happen and the second as well. After that we forget what happened, we were desperate to win and do well, we do well but don’t win games.

“The situation is what it is. We played a good game but at that level, we can’t give them away.”

With Sunday seeing City travel to Anfield to take on Premier League leaders Liverpool, who are currently eight points above the Citizens in the table, it seems likely that this could be another stressful match for Guardiola, but hopefully won’t end with him having even more cuts and scratches on his face.