Pep Guardiola claimed he wanted to ‘harm himself’ after visible scratches and a cut were spotted on his face following Manchester City‘s draw with Feyenoord.
The reigning Premier League champions were denied victory for the fifth game in a row as they surrendered a three-goal lead at home to their Dutch opponents in the Champions League.
Erling Haaland opened the scoring from the penalty spot in the first half before Ilkay Gundogan grabbed a second after the break. Haaland found the net again shortly afterwards but City were unable to hold onto their advantage until the final whistle.
Anis Hadj-Moussa gave Feyenoord a glimmer of hope before Santiago Gimenez and David Hancko completed the comeback to earn a hard-fought draw and leave Guardiola furious.
The Spaniard turned up for his post-match media duties with several scratches on his head, while there was also a noticeable cut on the bridge of his nose.
Explaining the injuries in his press conference, Guardiola delivered a worrying response as he said: « My finger, here [points to nose]. My nail. I want to harm myself. »
As he left the room, a member of the media attempted to console the City boss by reassuring him: « It will be okay. »
Things will not get any easier for City this weekend, with a game against Premier League leaders Liverpool their next task. Before leaving the press conference, Guardiola underlined his desire to get his side back on track ahead of the trip to Merseyside.
He added: « Three episodes didn’t allow us to win, what we needed. For many, many reasons, not just for the terms of qualification and get the points to go through. Other reasons.
« It’s what it is. So difficult to swallow right now. The game was good. We scored three, we could have scored more, we do everything but at the end, we give away especially the first one and after we are not stable enough to do it.
« It’s not about not running, no commitment, nothing like that but in football, you have to do it in certain moments. The second goal, the second post, touch the post. Improve, what can you do? So rest one or two days and prepare for Anfield. »
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