The image of Pep Guardiola’s scratched face, his nose cut and his scalp painfully reddened, is heart-rending. Here is a figure who likes to project a force field, an aura of invulnerability, but whose torment at the worst run of his managerial career is so acute that he is tearing at his own skin.

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola on Tuesday was covered in scratches following the team's 3-3 draw Feyenoord. He claimed they were self-inflicted.