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For pep guardiolaIt was a sad milestone, a terrible way to bring in a century. his 100th Champions League game in charge Manchester City Ranked as one of the worst. And, as bad as his players were, he recognized who was most to blame. she herself.
City suffered defeat due to managerial complacency and their own weak performance as well as impressive performance bayer leverkusen Side. As the third teams in the Premier League and Bundesliga met, Guardiola chose his second-string team. He finished second at best. It was a gamble that backfired. With the regulars being rested when City’s next rivals Leeds were in danger of relegation, the decision to make 10 changes seemed unnecessarily odd. “A lot of changes,” Guardiola admitted. “It was the first time in my life I did that and it was too much. I take full responsibility for it.”
Now a shock shock result could include a place in the knockout play-off round which City were looking to bypass. “I don’t think that’s what’s going to happen in the future,” Guardiola said. Perhaps he had no idea of this. After 23 Champions League group-stage games without a defeat seven years ago, Leverkusen emerged as successors to Lyon, the previous winners at the Etihad.
It is now consecutive defeats for City after the defeat at Newcastle. This could be consecutive defeats in the Champions League, considering that their next game is against Real Madrid. Suddenly, this stage seems no less than a procession for them. For Leverkusen, who struck clinically through Alejandro Grimaldo and Patrik Schick, it was further evidence of the transformative effect of manager Kasper Hjulmand after Eric ten Hag’s brief reign was ended with embarrassing swiftness. “It’s a memorable night,” Hjulmand said. “Three points here at City is not something you can expect.”
Nor was there a City teamsheet. If the intention was to prove that they are not a one-man team, it gave exactly the wrong impression. “I always like to be very good and get everyone involved,” Guardiola said. The initial 11, costing £350 million, produced a flat display. “Still I think the players who started were exceptional players,” Guardiola said. But his understanding was weak. Nobody took advantage of the opportunity. Three-time Bundesliga winner Guardiola seemed guilty of underestimating the recent German champions.
Only Nico Gonzalez retained his place, and even if Rodri had been fit he would not have been first choice. There was no Gianluigi Donnarumma, no Erling Haaland. Not in the beginning anyway. “We had weapons on the bench,” Guardiola said. He was forced to bring on Phil Foden, Jeremy Doku and Nico O’Reilly at half-time to replace the ineffective trio of Rico Lewis, Oscar Bob and Ryan Ait-Nouri. After another 20 minutes, Haaland and Ryan Cherky came on. Omar Marmoush, who has performed brilliantly against German clubs for Eintracht Frankfurt, made little impact against Leverkusen and made way for Haaland.
Enter the big man, on a rare night off due to a state of emergency. “We can’t play Erling for 95 minutes every time,” Guardiola said. Given 25 minutes, Haaland’s scoring streak in every Champions League game this season ended. Mark Flekken made a good save when the Norwegian was released by Foden, as the goalkeeper twice denied Cherky. At least the substitutes made a difference. The starters had left them with a lot to do.
Flekken was excellent and yet, for most of the first half, something of a spectator. He made a good save from Nathan Ake from close range. Furthermore, Guardiola’s reserves received little attention in the opening 43 minutes. Then Tijani Reynders advanced, and Flekken defended, with one Dutchman again denying the other. Otherwise, a feeling of emptiness before the interval had prompted Guardiola to turn to his bench. That, and the fact that Leverkusen has already taken the lead.
Inspired by Christian Coffen, Grimaldo fired a shot past Champions League debutant James Trafford. It was the Spaniard’s eighth goal of the season from the left wing-back, a remarkable return to form from one of Xabi Alonso’s finest signings. Most of the charismatic figures from Leverkusen’s 2024 team that won their first Bundesliga title are gone. Not Grimaldo. He also played a part in the second goal, captaining them in the absence of the suspended Robert Andrich. Schick leapfrogged Ake to meet Ibrahima Maza’s cross with a superb header. For him too, this was the eighth goal of the campaign.
And if Leverkusen proved that it is possible for a team playing 3-4-3 to win in Manchester this week, the injury-ravaged team also defended with superb organisation. It was remarkable how little alarm he had, how much control he maintained. Their Champions League campaign began with a run of three games without a win, culminating in a 7–2 defeat by Paris Saint-Germain.
Yet if City promised to be among the toughest opponents to face, it was a spectacular scoreline for a very different reason. The city is not used to such nights. Neither is Guardiola. But when his team got it wrong, so did he.