Manchester City suffered a 2–0 defeat to Bayer Leverkusen at the Etihad, collecting zero points on a Champions League night for the first time this season.
Pep Guardiola ushered out a lineup with 10 changes from the team that lost 2–1 to Newcastle United at the weekend and paid the price. The Cityzens failed to get on the scoresheet for only the third time in 2025–26 and looked extremely vulnerable on the counter.
Goals from Alejandro Grimaldo and Patrik Schick lifted Bayer Leverkusen to victory at the Etihad, where Man City supporters headed for the exits before the final whistle sounded.
The English giants now sit sixth in the league phase standings, though they will sink even lower once Wednesday’s matches are played.
Man City Player Ratings vs. Bayer Leverkusen (4-2-3-1)
GK: James Trafford—5.3: Made zero saves and conceded the two shots on target he faced. The numbers speak for themselves.
RB: Abdukodir Khusanov—7.0: Ended up rolling on the ground when Grimaldo buried Bayer Leverkusen’s first goal. Khusanov bounced back, but he is still not up to the level needed to grind out a Champions League win.
CB: John Stones—6.9: Failed to bring the leadership his backline needed against arguably their toughest European opponent so far this season.
CB: Nathan Aké—7.1: Lost a battle with Schick in the air that saw Man City concede their second goal of the night. Otherwise, Aké put in an admirable performance at the back.
LB: Rayan Aït-Nouri—6.4: Completely caught out on the counter attack that led to Bayer Leverkusen’s opener. Aït-Nouri was beaten for pace when it mattered most.
DM: Rico Lewis—6.5: Didn’t misplace a pass all night. Except Lewis lacks presence in the midfield and virtually brought nothing to the game before he was hooked at half-time.
DM: Nico González—7.0: A bright spot among lackluster starters for Man City. The Spaniard created the most chances in the match and made several crucial tackles and recoveries to give his team a fighting chance.
RW: Oscar Bobb—7.0: Created two chances in the first half, but once again was predictable on the ball and relied too heavily on his dribbling ability.
CM: Tijjani Reijnders—6.9: Nearly invisible. Barring one shot on target, Reijnders was not nearly as creative or decisive as Man City needed him to be on Tuesday night.
LW: Savinho—6.4: Not one of his better performances in a game Man City were crying out for a playmaker. Savinho’s night was perhaps best summed up in the 87th minute when slipped in acres of space on the counter attack, drawing loud groans from the crowd.
ST: Omar Marmoush—5.8: Failed to get into the game. Marmoush only managed seven passes, 18 touches and zero shots in his 65 minutes on the pitch.
Subs not used: Gianluigi Donnarumma (GK), Marcus Bettinelli (GK), Joško Gvardiol, Matheus Nunes, Rúben Dias, Bernardo Silva
Bayer Leverkusen (3-1-4-2)
Starting XI: Mark Flekken; Jarell Quansah, Loïc Badé, Jeanuël Belocian; Aleix García; Ernet Poku, Ibrahim Maza, Malik Tillman, Alejandro Grimaldo; Christian Kofane, Patrik Schick
Subs used: Nathan Tella
Man City Player of the Match: Nathan Aké
Player of the Match: Mark Flekken (Bayer Leverkusen)
Man City 0–2 Bayer Leverkusen—How It Unfolded at the Etihad
That post international break optimism did not last long for Pep Guardiola and his Man City side. pic.twitter.com/zMwI7HcnfO
— Sports Illustrated FC (@SI_FootballClub) November 25, 2025
Guardiola deployed a much-changed XI from Man City’s weekend defeat at St. James’ Park, trusting his fringe players to get past Bayer Leverkusen. While Erling Haaland, Jérémy Doku, Bernardo Silva and Phil Foden looked on, the Cityzens got off to a dominant start at the Etihad.
Nathan Aké nearly found the breakthrough for the hosts just five minutes into the fixture, sending a dangerous shot from close range the way of Mark Flekken, who reacted quickly to push the effort over the crossbar.
Man City kept the pressure on their German opponents, pinning Bayer Leverkusen inside their own half. The 10-time English champions poked and prodded the visitors’ backline, but like so many other times this season, lacked the end quality needed to find the back of the net.
Kasper Hjulmand’s men weathered the early storm and made their presence felt on the counter attack. Malik Tillman got hold of the ball and drove down the pitch before finding a streaking Ibrahim Maza down the right flank. The latter sent a cross into the box, where Christian Kofane laid the ball off for Grimaldo.
The captain buried a lethal first-time, left-footed finish into the back of the net to put his side up 1–0 in the 23rd minute. The goal marked the first time Man City trailed in the Champions League this season.
Nothing the English outfit put together in the remainder of the first half was good enough to bag an equaliser, prompting Guardiola to bring on three new faces at half-time. Yet it was Bayer Leverkusen that found the game’s next goal in the 54th minute.
Maza played a floated ball right onto the head of Schick, who bested Nathan Aké in the air to tuck a well-placed header into the bottom corner of the net. Now down 2–0 at home, Guardiola brought on Haaland and Rayan Cherki to give his team some life.
Man City immediately looked more dangerous with the two players on the pitch, especially when they linked up with Jérémy Doku. The three stars sent a flurry of chances the way of Flekken as the minutes ticked down at the Etihad, but not even a free kick destined for the top corner from Cherki was enough to get the hosts on the scoresheet.
Guardiola’s 10 changes on Tuesday night put Man City in a hole that not even his best players could dig out of in the second half.
Man City vs. Bayer Leverkusen Half-Time Stats
Man City vs. Bayer Leverkusen Full Time Stats
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Man City Player Ratings vs. Bayer Leverkusen: Guardiola’s Gamble Fails Miserably.
