Pep Guardiola apologises for trivialising self harm in press conference after Manchester City's latest flop

UPDATE: After the viral clip of Pep Guardiola's laughing saying he wanted to hurt himself after last night football match, when he appeared with his scratches on his head, the Spanish coach has issued a statement apologising for what appeared to be "making light of the very serious issue of self harm".

"I was caught off guard with a question at the end of a press conference last night about a scratch which had appeared on my face and explained that a sharp fingernail had accidentally caused this. My answer was in no way intended to make light of the very serious issue of self harm."

"I know that many people struggle with mental health issues every day, and I would like to take this moment to highlight one of the ways in people can seek help, by calling the Samaritans hotline on 116 123 or emailing [email protected]"

Original story: Manchester City seemed to finally had found its foot again, with a solid 3-0 victory against Dutch team Feyenoord, including two goals by Erling Haaland, the fastest player to reach 40 goals in the Champions League.

However, in just fifteen minutes, Feyenoord equalised the match that ended 3-3, with goals by Anis Hadj-Moussa, Santiago Giménez and Dávid Hancko. According to Opta, this is the first time a team with a three-goal advantage at the 75 minute doesn't win the game in Champions League (although, technically, Feyenoord's first goal came at 74 minute).

"The game was fine at 3-0, playing well, but then we conceded a lot goals because we were not stable", said Manchester City coach Pep Guardiola. "We've lost a lot of games lately, we are fragile and of course we needed this victory, the game would have been good for the confidence".

The first two goals were caused by mistakes, mainly by Josko Gvardiol after a failed back pass to goalkeeper Ederson in the first goal. The Croatian player was also to blame for two of the four goals City suffered against Tottenham last weekend.

Guardiola, however, defended the 22-year-old player. "He is so young, he will learn. He was the best player in the pitch. I would be so wrong if I point the finger at him. He is a fantastic player, a fantastic kid. Now, more than ever, he needs help".

Guardiola, who is going through the worst streak as City manager (five defeats and one draw), was seen with some scratches over his head and even a bleeding one on his nose. When asked about the cuts, he said "with my finger, with my nail. I want to hurt myself, yeah", he said, laughing.