Man City 0-2 Bayer Leverkusen: Pep Guardiola’s side stunned in Champions League for second successive defeat
Manchester City fell to a second successive defeat – and a first Champions League group/league phase home loss in seven years – as Bayer Leverkusen claimed a 2-0 win at the Etihad.
Lyon were the last team to beat Man City at home before the knockout rounds in September 2018, winning 2-1. Pep Guardiola served a touchline ban that evening and was replaced in the dugout by Mikel Arteta.
But Guardiola had a front row seat for Tuesday’s defeat. He made 10 changes to his starting XI from the weekend’s Premier League loss at Newcastle, benching the likes of Erling Haaland, Phil Foden and Jeremy Doku.
But the fresh legs did not work, with Guardiola urging his side to pass the ball quicker from the early minutes of the game as Leverkusen outplayed their opponents.
It was a fast break that saw them score the opener too. Christian Kofane’s superb cross was lashed home by Alejandro Grimaldo, despite Man City having dominated the early possession.
Alex Grimaldo celebrates after opening the scoring for Bayer Leverkusen against Man City
The hosts’ best chance of the half came with the last kick as Tijjani Reijnders forced a fine save from former Brentford goalkeeper Mark Flekken. City finished the opening period with just two shots on target.
Guardiola bought on Foden, Doku and Nico O’Reilly at the break – but nine minutes later Leverkusen doubled their lead. Ibrahim Maza curled a wonderful ball into the box for Patrik Schick to nod home.
Pep Guardiola took charge of his 100th Champions League game in charge of Manchester City (W62 D19 L19), making him just the third manager to oversee 100 plus games with an English team in the European Cup/Champions League, after Alex Ferguson (190 with Manchester United) and Arsene Wenger (177 with Arsenal).
Haaland looked stone-faced on the touchline as the second went in, and it wasn’t long before he was introduced alongside Rayan Cherki.
He almost had an immediate impact too, with a trio of chances falling his way. Two efforts went wide, while another – when he looked to be through – was smothered away from his feet by Flekken.
Erling Haaland came on in the second half, but could not find the goals for Man City
Man City did look brighter with their big guns, but it was not enough to beat a well-drilled Leverkusen, who are the first German team to win at the Eithad in the Champions League since Guardiola’s Bayern Munich in October 2013.
The results will certainly give the Man City head coach plenty to ponder. None of the 10 players who came in had any real impact, while their reliance on Haaland being on the pitch and in form was glaring evident. The players were booed off the pitch by supporters at full-time too.
Nathan Ake saw an early shot saved by Bayer Leverkusen goalkeeper Mark Flekken
It could also be a bruising defeat for their overall Champions League hopes. Man City remain in the top eight for now, but that could change by the end of Wednesday’s games. They will desperately want to avoid the play-off rounds, and will need to rediscover their form ahead of an away match at Real Madrid on Wednesday December 10.
Leverkusen will be boosted by a second successive Champions League win, both of which have come away from home. They move up to 13th place, two points behind Man City.
Story of the match in stats…
What’s coming up for Man City?
