PEP GUARDIOLA has been spotted nursing more injuries to his forehead after a disastrous half from his Manchester City stars.
The Spaniard watched on in horror as his side went behind against Club Brugge in a must-win Champions League showdown.
Guardiola cut a frustrated figure on the touchline as Raphael Onyedika swept in on the stroke of halftime to stun the Etihad.
The 54-year-old was agitated throughout as a City team featuring Erling Haaland, Kevin De Bruyne, and Phil Foden failed to fire in the opening 45.
City required three points to avoid an embarrassing early exit from the competition they won in 2023.
Guardiola was seen with red scratches on his forehead as he took his seat on the bench just before the break.
But Mateo Kovacic levelled early in the second half, before a Joel Ordonez own goal turned the game around.
A wound-up Guardiola was booked minutes after the leveller for remonstrating with the officials.
And after City took the lead, he booted a water bottle hard across the dugouts.
It’s not the first time Pep has struggled this season with a similar scratching issue.
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He watched his side throw away a 3-0 lead to Feyenoord in November and cut his own nose with his fingernail.
Guardiola put the issue down to a “skin problem” after concerned fans noticed his post-game appearance.
[authenticated-scripts src=”%3Cscript%20class%3D%22palin-poll%22%20src%3D%22https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thesun.co.uk%2Fpollingwidgets%2Fv3%2Fwidget.js%3Fquestion_id%3D104867%26game%3Dpolling%22%3E%3C%2Fscript%3E” type=”embedded” width=”100″ /] [bc_video account_id=”5067014667001″ application_id=”” aspect_ratio=”16:9″ autoplay=”” caption=”Man City boss Pep Guardiola’s recen struggles could be a response to the end of his marriage to teenage sweetheart Cristina Serra” embed=”in-page” experience_id=”” height=”100%” language_detection=”” max_height=”360px” max_width=”640px” min_width=”0px” mute=”” padding_top=”56%” picture_in_picture=”” player_id=”default” playlist_id=”” playsinline=”” sizing=”responsive” video_id=”6367092269112″ video_ids=”” width=”640px”]He explained: “I have a skin problem.
“I have to take antihistamines for two, three years.
“It’s not a matter of that time [against Feyenoord].
“The nails – yes – I caught them on my nose. But the rest [of the catches] was down to [the skin problem].”
The revamped Champions League format sees an eight-game Swiss Model instead of the traditional 32-team group stage.
The top eight teams automatically qualify for the last 16 and are joined by the winners of a play-off round between those that finished ninth to 24th.
Those that finish 25th to 36th are eliminated from all European competition – teams no longer drop into the Europa League.
City eventually won the game 3-1, with Savinho netting off the bench.
But Guardiola has now been given another headache, with either Real Madrid or Bayern Munich awaiting in the playoffs.
