You had to go back to September 2018 for the last time Manchester City lost a Champions League group match at home, when Pep Guardiola was in the stands because of a ban, and Nabil Fekir’s winner gave Lyon a 2-1 victory.
Guardiola stood down all but one of the XI that lost at Newcastle United and witnessed Bayer Leverkusen end a 23-match run in the type of off‑colour display reminiscent of last season.
Why the City manager rested so many, including Erling Haaland and Phil Foden, puzzled considering the Newcastle reverse was on Saturday and there are four days until Leeds visit.
Guardiola said: “It was the first time in my life I’ve done it [10 changes] and it was too much. Seeing the result, they played not to make mistakes instead of doing what we had to do. They tried to do it. Maybe with the players who played regularly, maybe they would have had [more] confidence.”
The defeat leaves City on 10 points with Real Madrid up next. “Now it’s Leeds and we have still three games [in the Champions League phase] and we will see what happens,” Guardiola said.
Beyond his tinkering, the wider truth is that City are no relentless winning-machine as they once were. He offered the normal platitudes about Leverkusen being tough opponents, then retained only Nico González as the No 6. Guardiola’s formation had Tijjani Reijnders and Rico Lewis as the attacking midfield pair behind a frontline of Oscar Bobb, Omar Marmoush, and Savinho.
It was a centre-back – Nathan Aké – who went close when torching a shot at goal from a Reijnders corner on the left: Mark Flekken somehow beat the ball away from bulging the goalkeeper’s top left corner.
This outing of the many contenders to be Guardiola’s first-choice next featured the understudy defender Abdukodir Khusanov, who skipped forward from right-back and curved the ball in for Marmoush who could not convert.
The ongoing absence of Rodri means City are too easily got at via attacks the peerless midfielder often spies and stops at infancy. So it was that Leverkusen cruised along their left, pinged the ball over, and Ernest Poku unloaded – Rayan Aït-Nouri’s sliding block was heroic and City were warned. As they were, again, when one moment Khusanov was nabbing the ball from Malik Tillman before Reijnders dawdled in Leverkusen’s area, and the visitors broke.
Suddenly Poku was being grappled to the ground in City’s box by Aït-Nouri, in what looked a case for a penalty – yet while Kasper Hjulmand and his men were convinced, the referee, João Pinheiro, was not.
Now, however, Guardiola’s near‑wholesale reshuffle of the team backfired.
City were caught, centrally, before the ball was swept right, again, to Ibrahim Maza. The cross twisted the rearguard around, Christian Kofane touched back to Alejandro Grimaldo, and the captain drove past James Trafford into the right corner.
Any side can concede anytime and the play to do against Guardiola’s City has always been the counter-surge. Yet since last season it has occurred too often for his liking, while there is a bluntness in front of goal when Haaland does not score or is on the bench as he remained at the break. Factor in how Foden’s paltry four goals are second to the Norwegian’s 19 and him being a replacement as well and you could see how their manager might consider introducing one or both soon.
As the temperature neared freezing, Guardiola’s role was to turn the dial up on a tepid display. Bobb and Reijnders each ran in and shot and each time Flekken repelled. They offered a glimmer of what was required – but only that.
For the second half, Guardiola made his move. On came Nico O’Reilly for Aït‑Nouri, Jérémy Doku for Bobb, and Foden for Lewis. But it failed miserably, as Leverkusen scored again due to further iffy defending.
From the right, Maza again had copious time to spiral the ball over, Patrik Schick rose and got ahead of the dozing Aké and directed a header beyond Trafford to the keeper’s left.
Instantly the camera moved to Haaland who, warming up, was dismayed and, after Savinho spooned over and a Foden effort went for a corner, Guardiola signalled for the striker and Rayan Cherki to strip off.
They entered on 65 minutes for Marmoush and Khusanov, cheered on as the cavalry the City faithful hoped they would prove. Instantly Haaland was rising to head at goal: he missed but you felt, at last, those in blue were potent.
Further evidence was a classic Haaland stampede forward that had Flekken diving at his feet. City dominated the closing phase – a Cherki dribble claimed a corner but though Haaland was found he, as with his teammates all evening, could find no answer.
“We are so happy with this win but also the character we showed,” Hjulmand said. Leverkusen’s head coach was right to be proud.
