Manchester City’s losing streak is over. But they are still a ship that could sink at any moment.

From 3-0 after 75 minutes, a late horror show gave away the lead as Feyenoord preyed on the home nerves through Anis Hadj Moussa, Santiago Giménez and David Hancko, who brought Feyenoord level and earned a hard-fought point.

After five consecutive defeats, a victory was looming that would have made life a lot brighter for Pep Guardiola and his players for the champion’s next challenge: to Anfield on Sunday to face Liverpool. But after City’s shaky finish here, they will hardly be able to enjoy the trip to Arne Slot’s leaders.

Feyenoord, who came in fourth place in the Eredivisie, seemed defeated by two goals from Erling Haaland and one from Ilkay Gündogan. They all came after the break when Guardiola ditched the narrow 4-3-3 that proved toothless against Ange Postecoglu’s Tottenham for a 4-2-3-1 that still allowed gaps and was loose in the opening 45 minutes.

The bigger picture, however, is that Rodri is still sorely missed – for his steady head and calm control. Hadj Moussa and Giménez’s goals in the 75th and 82nd minutes each came as Josko Gvardiol lost his cool and made sloppy passes, while Ederson was at fault for rushing for the visitors’ equalizer.

Against Feyenoord, whose six points came from wins over Benfica and Girona, Guardiola dropped Kyle Walker and Savinho after Saturday’s 4-0 humiliation of Spurs. Matheus Nunes and Jack Grealish came on, while Nathan Aké was retained after replacing the injured John Stones at half-time.

It was no surprise to see Erling Haaland and Phil Foden, as serial winners, joking beforehand and each involved in a flowing move with the latter crossing, the ball being turned back by Manuel Akanji, the Norwegian heading but seeing Timon Wellenreuther save with a frantic dive low to the right.

However, Wellenreuther had the following mistake. A misdirected pass from the goalkeeper was cleared by City and suddenly Grealish’s volley flew towards goal, although Foden’s back deflected the ball. But now we saw the clumsiness that plagued Guardiola’s side as the slow Ilkay Gundogan was robbed, City turned and Josko Gvardiol’s strength was needed to thwart Feyenoord down the right.

This led to a display of Guardiola irritation. So did Aké’s conversion of Julián Carranza, and an Igor Paixão rushed in from his left wing to switch: the No. 14 continued his run and eventually the ball came to him, but a flying effort went high.

Progress is another element City lacked and although Foden’s turn-and-shot saved Wellenreuther, it was an emblem of that. Another problem was the gaps in midfield and the way Feyenoord advanced down the left was one of many examples, causing an increasingly frustrated Guardiola to direct his ire at Bernardo Silva for not patrolling his flank.

City’s famous press also did not function well. Brian Priske’s men carved out possession as their hosts wanted. Feyenoord kept slipping through – like when the ball went tap-tap-tap-tap forward and Paixão hit the ball straight into Ederson’s hands.

Defensively, City looked like a goal waiting to happen. The attack was much simpler: a reckless Foden surge culminating in a blocked try took his team to the end they wanted to operate in. After a Hwang In-beom rocket was repelled, City took to the field again. But the same lack of precision saw Haaland hit a leg instead of the back of Wellenreuther’s net.

But then take a break. Quinten Timber was the culprit for catching Haaland and Radu Petrescu pointed to the spot. The Feyenoord captain lost the argument with the referee and Haaland rammed the penalty into the bottom right corner after a break. The relief among City fans was palpable.

Could City grow from here and cruise through the second half ahead of the weekend Test? The answer was yes. Gvardiol flicked the ball to Haaland at the required high pace and the No. 9 glimpsed the goal but turned in traffic. Nunes, more direct, shot; a corner was claimed and City were about to score a second for the first time since Sparta Prague were beaten 5-0 here on October 23.

The ball flew in from the right quadrant, flew out to Gündogan, and his left-boot-started volley pinged into the net off Hancko, wrong-footing Wellenreuther, and those wearing blue breathed easier.

City entered relaxed mode seconds later via the kind of back-to-front outing that seemed extinct of late. Akanji fed Gündogan, whose pirouette predicted a pass to the marauding Nunes on the right. He skated forward and skimmed a ball that allowed Haaland, ever the arch-predator, to slot home for 3-0.

Guardiola aimed his celebration, as he likes to do, at the posh seats of the gods behind him, and his players wheeled around. Grealish, Gvardiol and Foden all came close. City approached their usual imperiousness, so when Akanji sprayed the ball straight to Hancko he was relieved to see the Feyenoord defender go wide.

There was no such relief for Gvardiol, whose repeat of his misfortune against Spurs sparked Feyenoord’s comeback and City’s crumbling.