Guardiola Reshuffles Bayer Leverkusen With Player Rotation, Man City Beaten

JAKARTA - Manchester City did not take into account Bayer Leverkusen so manager Pep Guardiola rotated a massive player in the Champions League preliminary match. As a result, Leverkusen beat Man City 2-0 in a match at the Etihad Stadium, Manchester, Wednesday, November 26, 2025 in the morning WIB.

Guardiola's gambling ended in a surprising defeat. When hosting Leverkusen, Guardiola lowered the different starting line-up. No less than 10 pillar players were reserved, including Erling Haaland, Ruben Dias and Bernardo Silva. Even goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma was not played and replaced by James Trafford.

Guardiola chose to give the players a chance because Man City will play a game on a tight schedule in December, including a big match against Real Madrid in the Champions League.

In addition, The Cityzens' position in the standings is quite safe because it is still in the top eight or is one of the teams that gets automatic tickets to the next round of European competitions.

Only Guardiola's rotation during the 100th match with Man City in the Champions League gave a bad result. They were unable to score and for the first time lost in the European preliminary round.

This is also Man City's second consecutive defeat in various competitions. Previously, Man City had to admit the superiority of Newcastle United 2-1 in the English Premier League.

The fourth defeat in the Premier League resulted in an embarrassing incident because Guardiola not only made verbal provocations against the referee but also camera officers.

In that match, Man City was actually still seeded even though it fell with a different composition of players. But front player Omar Marmoush who replaced Haaland failed to meet the expectations.

Despite creating many chances as Man City remains superior in possession of the ball, their killing instincts are very weak.

Man City almost took the lead when the game had only been running for five minutes. defender Nathan Ake's shot from close range who received a pass from Oscar Bobb brilliantly pushed over by goalkeeper Mark Flekken.

Ake's efforts show Man City dominates the game. It's just that their attacks never paid off. On the other hand, Leverkusen played more efficiently.

When they got a gap, midfielder Alex Grimaldo successfully beat Trafford in the 23rd minute. The goal started with Malik Tillman and Christian Kofane's neat cooperation. From that collaboration, Kofane then released a pass to Grimaldo who finished it as a goal.

Left behind 1-0, Man City tried to increase attack activity. They created a number of chances but nothing could be converted to equalize. Marmoush failed to show his sharpness. Meanwhile, Bobb's efforts to welcome the cross could still be blocked by Fleken by foot.

Midfielder Tijjani Reijnders also have the opportunity to score goals towards the end of the first half. Only Fleken again thwarted opportunities from Nyong Ambon. Former Brentford goalkeeper who played brilliantly in the match took the decision to dare to leave the net to face the ball. Leverkusen's 1-0 lead did not change until halftime.

In the second half, Guardiola fielded pillar players, Jeremy Doku, Phil Foden and Nico O'en to increase the impact. But their efforts were fruitless.

On the other hand, Man City's goal conceded again. This time it was striker Patrik Schick who solidified Leverkusen's lead to 2-0 in the 54th minute. The goal started with Ibrahim Maza's action which crossed the ball towards the goal.

Schick and Ake both jumped for the ball. Only Schick won the aerial duel and his header sped into the net without being saved by Trafford.

After conceding twice, Guardiola only entered Haaland in the 65th minute. Replacing Marmoush who failed to contribute, Haaland had a chance to score.

However, Leverkusen coach Kasper Hjulmand, who replaced Erik ten Hag, has strengthened the defense sector so that the hosts fail to convert every opportunity. The score 2-0 for Leverkusen lasted until the game was over.

The defeat has not changed Man City's position in the standings. They are ranked sixth with 10 points. Meanwhile, Leverkusen moved up to 13th place. The German Bundesliga team remains in the playoffs zone with eight points.