Revealed: How did Pep Guardiola take the blow to the nose after his Manchester City side denied a three-goal lead over Feyenoord, as Guillem Balague offers insight into the manager’s “self-doubt” and “nervousness”?

Guillem Balague has revealed how he cut off Pep Guardiola’s nose after Manchester City’s embarrassing draw against Feyenoord shocked football fans.

The photo of the Spaniard’s head scratches and nose wound summed up City’s troubles this season, which reached a new level after taking a three-goal lead in the Champions League.

Erling Haaland’s attack, coming either side of İlkay Gündoğan’s volley, put the home team beyond the reach of their Dutch rivals.

But two mistakes from defender Josko Gvardiol put the visitors back into the game before Ederson missed his penalty and David Hancko scored a dramatic equaliser.

Guardiola raised concerns when he appeared at the press conference after the fiasco with scars on his head and face and joked that he wanted to ‘hurt himself’.

Now Spanish journalist Balague explains how the manager received his cuts, while also giving an insight into his compatriot’s personality.

He said: ‘Do you know he’s scratching his head? Don’t ask why, it’s a sign of uneasiness.

‘Normally nothing would happen, but that day one of his nails was very sharp and it hit the scar on his nose.

‘If you remember he started the game with his nose covered and that was because of an argument the other day with Kyle Walker about positional football and where he should play, but football.

‘And he was angry again, and marked his nose again, and they put a veil over him; He was in his own office.

“At the end of the match he started scratching his head, nervous and nervous, and he went to the press conference and his right-hand man sent him a photo and said: “What’s on your mind?” because you could already see all the signs in the photo; it must have been after talking to Sky.

Pep looks at the photo and after the press conference he goes to the training room and there is nothing in his mind, everything is lost. These were just marks that were the result of what he walked into the locker room with. So they were all gone.’

Balague also said even Guardiola, who won six league titles at the Etihad and three Champions League titles during his career, doubts himself.

‘This was one of them,’ he added. ‘It shows he’s nervous, of course he’s nervous.

“And you know you’re extremely self-doubting.” He always did. ‘I can’t explain this,’ he thinks, and he needs some support from people.’

After the match, Guardiola said: ‘We cannot win the match. As a team, we always find a way over the years. Currently nothing happens in another state.

‘There was no need to tell them anything; They know this very well.

‘Three divisions and they (Feyenoord) didn’t let us win. It is what it is and it is very hard to swallow. It will be a difficult season for us and we have to accept that. We need to lift them (for Anfield). I need to remove my players. This is my job.”

Last month’s draw may have ended a five-game losing streak but it was one of the low points of a miserable season so far for City.

Things have not improved for Guardiola’s men since then; Defeats against Liverpool, Juventus and Manchester United were only overturned by a rare victory against Nottingham Forest.