Pep Guardiola accepted full responsibility for Manchester City’s 2-0 loss to Bayer Leverkusen in the UEFA Champions League.
He admitted that his sweeping rotation left the Sky Blues short of cohesion and control on a night when the German side looked sharper, clearer in structure and far more decisive in both penalty areas.
The defeat—City’s second in a row—came after Guardiola made ten changes to the team that had fallen to Newcastle United at the weekend.
Nico Gonzalez was the only player to retain his place, with James Trafford, Nathan Ake and Oscar Bobb among those handed rare starts as Guardiola attempted to freshen up his squad during a packed period of fixtures.
Before kick-off, Guardiola told TNT Sports he would have replaced “all eleven players” if circumstances allowed, stressing that City badly needed “fresh legs” after an intense run of matches.
But those words would soon return to him with uncomfortable force.
Goals from Alex Grimaldo and Patrik Schick settled the contest, and the visitors left Manchester with a valuable three points that significantly enhance their hopes of progressing to the knockout rounds.
Pep Guardiola’s rotation gamble backfires
City’s rhythm was fractured from the outset, with the newly assembled XI struggling to generate the quick passing exchanges and positional clarity usually associated with Guardiola’s teams.
Even before the final whistle, attention had already turned to the manager’s selection choices.
Guardiola did not shy away from criticism when he spoke to TNT Sports about the Manchester City’s 2-0 loss to Bayer Leverkusen.
“I understand your question,” he said. “Absolutely, I have to accept it. I have to accept that if we win, it will not be a problem.
“I accept that maybe it’s a lot, but I think they’re playing every two or three or four days, we need to… but maybe it’s too much. Seeing the result, maybe it’s too much.”
The admission was unusually candid for Guardiola, who often defends his rotation policy as a necessary response to the demands of modern football.
But the manager acknowledged that this particular reshuffle may have been a step too far.
His team now face a demanding trip to Real Madrid next month, and the defeat means they have dropped points for the second time in the group stage.
Among the TNT Sports pundits, Joleon Lescott was one of the first to express surprise at the scale of Guardiola’s changes.
“In isolation, any of those players play on a weekly basis,” he said before kick-off.
“The fact that it’s 10 changes is the surprising element to it. They’re all good enough to play. They have played. He [Guardiola] will expect to win, regardless of who’s performing.”
Martin Keown struck a similar note, questioning whether City’s understudies could adequately replace the usual spine of the side.
“Some of the players these guys are replacing are the kings of football. Are they good enough?” he asked.
“[John] Stones playing here tonight. He’s a player who plays for England, who doesn’t seem to play the most important games for City.
He’s another one who seems like he’s on trial, and maybe that’s what we’re seeing here – a trial.”
If the match was indeed a trial, it was one that failed to convince.
City were second-best for long stretches and struggled to play through Leverkusen’s compact and highly organised defensive structure.
The Bundesliga team showed far greater clarity in both movement and decision-making, pressing in coordinated bursts and exploiting City’s disjointed press with swift transitions.
Guardiola reacted early, sending on Nico O’Reilly, Phil Foden and Jeremy Doku at the interval in an attempt to inject tempo and inventiveness into City’s play.
By the 65th minute, Erling Haaland and Rayan Cherki had also been introduced as Guardiola sought a way back into the match.
But by that stage, Leverkusen were firmly in control. Grimaldo’s opener had come from a clever combination in midfield, finished with precision at the far post, while Schick doubled the advantage with a calm strike that left Trafford with little chance.
Leverkusen might even have stretched the scoreline had they been more ruthless during several promising counterattacks.
Speaking further about the Manchester City’s 2-0 loss to Bayer Leverkusen, Joleon Lescott felt the performance, more than the result itself, should concern City supporters.
“I think the performance is worse than result,” he said. “In Champions League football, you can lose any game. The performance is more telling than the result.
“There was an opportunity to build momentum with a performance and get a result, but that wasn’t the case.
“I think everyone will take responsibility. I think when you win and lose as a team, you all enjoy the accolades and the praise that you get, but you also have to take the responsibility and accountability when it doesn’t go so well.”
Owen Hargreaves offered a similar assessment, suggesting that the lack of continuity in the starting XI disrupted City’s usual fluency.
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“City weren’t great, and all the changes affected their rhythm,” he said.
“But you have to say, you’ve still got to come here and play, and I thought Leverkusen played the whole game. They probably could have scored more.”
For Leverkusen, the victory was another statement in what has already been an impressive Champions League campaign.
They defended intelligently, transitioned quickly, and outplayed a side that has made reaching the latter stages of this competition routine under Guardiola.
Their discipline without the ball and sharpness in the attacking third exposed a City team who lacked the familiarity and coordination usually seen in European competition.
