Erling Haaland got two goals as everything looked set for Manchester City to end a run of five consecutive losses in all competitions, only for a masterclass against Feyenoord to become a disaster-class in the closing 15 minutes.
Haaland’s penalty just before half-time broke the deadlock for Pep Guardiola’s side, followed by two quickfire goals from Ilkay Gundogan and Haaland again to give City a 3-0 lead after 54 minutes and have the crowd in Manchester buzzing at the return of a more familiar display from their team.
Even after Anis Hadj-Moussa pounced on a poor header back by Josko Gvardiol to pull one back for the Eredivisie side with 15 minutes to go, it was hard to imagine City would be unable to see this one out.
When substitute, Santiago Gimenez, got another for Feyenoord with eight minutes to go, the mood around the City of Manchester Stadium went from boisterous to anxious as the shadows of a collapse hovered over the Premier League side.
That fear became a reality in the 90th minute through David Hancko who headed into an open goal with Ederson in no-man’s land after the City keeper committed to challenging Paixao for a ball over the top of an out of shape City back-line.
Jack Grealish came close to sparing City’s blushes in stoppage time only to be denied by the post as Feyenoord held on for a valuable point while City endure their worst run of form in decades and indeed, Guardiola’s worst run in his managerial career – six straight matches without a win.