Manchester City suffered a 2-0 defeat at home to Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League, prompting Pep Guardiola to admit that his team selection was a mistake. In his 100th Champions League game as City coach, Guardiola made a surprising decision to swap out 10 players from the weekend's Premier League defeat at Newcastle. This included leaving key players like Erling Haaland, Phil Foden, and Gianluigi Donnarumma on the bench.
The much-changed City side struggled to find their rhythm against a confident Leverkusen team. Alejandro Grimaldo put the German side ahead in the 23rd minute with a fine finish after a quick counter-attack. Leverkusen doubled their lead nine minutes into the second half through a Patrick Schick header. Despite introducing Haaland and other key players in the second half, City were unable to break down Leverkusen's defense.
Guardiola took full responsibility for the loss, admitting that he made "too many changes". He explained that he wanted to involve all players in a busy season, but acknowledged that the changes disrupted the team's fluidity and confidence. "It was the first time in my life I've done it [10 changes] and it was too much," Guardiola stated. He noted that the players who came into the side might have been playing "not to make mistakes instead of doing what we had to do".
The defeat was City's first home loss in the Champions League group stage in 24 games. It also marked a second consecutive loss for City, following their defeat to Newcastle. While the loss doesn't jeopardize City's chances of reaching the last 16, it served as a harsh lesson about squad rotation at the highest level.
Despite the defeat, Guardiola defended his squad depth, asserting, "It's impossible to think that they are not good". He emphasized the need for all players to be ready, especially with a packed fixture schedule ahead. City face a busy December with games against Fulham, Sunderland, and Real Madrid.
The result leaves City in sixth place in the Champions League table. Their next European fixture is a trip to the Bernabeu to face Real Madrid. Before that, they will focus on domestic duties, starting with a match against Leeds United.
Some observers noted that despite the changes, the City lineup still comprised expensive players. However, the team failed to perform as a cohesive unit, leading to criticism of individual performances, particularly that of Brazilian winger Savinho. Guardiola, who also recently apologized for an incident with a cameraman after the Newcastle game, will be looking for a response from his team in the upcoming matches.
