Guardiola gamble backfires in Man City loss to Leverkusen
Pep Guardiola's bold choice in team selection proved costly as a weakened Manchester City team fell to a surprising 2-0 loss against Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League on Tuesday.
In an unexpected decision at the Etihad Stadium, Guardiola chose to bench most of his key players, including Erling Haaland, Ruben Dias, Bernardo Silva, and Gianluigi Donnarumma from the initial lineup.
Leverkusen capitalised on the poor showing from City's substitutes, with Alex Grimaldo scoring for the visitors in the opening period, followed by Patrik Schick adding a second after halftime, which led to murmurs of dissatisfaction among the home supporters at the end.
This marked the first home defeat for City in the Champions League before the knockout rounds since 2018, ending a run of 24 unbeaten games.
It represented back-to-back defeats for City, coming after their 2-1 Premier League setback at Newcastle on Saturday.
City have now suffered four losses in the Premier League this season, placing them seven points adrift of table-toppers Arsenal.
Although this initial Champions League loss in five outings may not derail their chances of advancing to the last 16, Guardiola will surely note that his backup squad lacks the strength he anticipated.
Guardiola's 100th match in charge of City in the Champions League turned out to be a disappointment, unlike many of his prior 99 games, which featured 62 victories and the team's first European title in 2023.
Guardiola recently expressed feeling "embarrassed and ashamed" following his clash with a photographer after the contentious loss at Newcastle.
His squad ought to feel similarly subdued after this uninspired performance.
Guardiola had stuck with the identical starting eleven for the prior three fixtures, but he dramatically altered that approach by making 10 switches.
This rotation could stem from awareness of City's packed December schedule, featuring two matches weekly and an upcoming Champions League clash at Real Madrid.
City frailties
Nathan Ake came close to giving City an early lead just five minutes in, latching onto Oscar Bobb's pass from a partially cleared corner and unleashing a powerful shot from close range that required a fine save over the bar from Mark Flekken.
City dominated the ball, yet they showed no sharpness in attack and were punished for lax marking in the 23rd minute.
Malik Tillman and Christian Kofane found themselves with ample room to set up Grimaldo, who rifled a precise low shot past James Trafford from 12 yards out.
Visibly frustrated on the sideline, Guardiola appeared particularly irritated by Abdukodir Khusanov's sluggish effort to track back and block Grimaldo before the strike.
For the first time this season in the Champions League, City found themselves behind, but their comeback lacked conviction.
Omar Marmoush had difficulty replacing Haaland up front, though Bobb nearly levelled with a lucky deflection off a cross that Flekken managed to deflect away with his foot.
Tijjani Reijnders missed a golden opportunity to tie the scores right before halftime, firing directly at Flekken after driving into the penalty area.
At the break, Guardiola brought on Jeremy Doku, Phil Foden, and Nico O'Reilly to shake things up.
O'Reilly nearly made an immediate difference with a shot from distance that forced Flekken into action.
However, vulnerabilities in City's makeshift backline surfaced once more in the 54th minute.
Ibrahim Maza whipped in a curling delivery to the near post, and Schick outmuscled the hesitant Ake to nod the ball into the opposite corner.
Marmoush squandered a decent opportunity to pull one back, and after the Egyptian striker's unsuccessful penalty claim, Guardiola at last substituted Haaland into the fray.
Yet, following several missed chances at Newcastle, Haaland again faltered, mishandling the ball to allow Flekken a comfortable save when he ought to have scored.