Change 10 Players When Man City Loses, Guardiola Admits Wrong Count

JAKARTA - Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola admitted that he had miscalculated when he overhauled the total by replacing 10 players against Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League preliminary match. Despite playing at home at the Etihad Stadium, Wednesday, November 26, 2025 in the morning, Man City's second class team gave up 2-0.

Guardiola made a surprise when he replaced almost all the pillar players against Leverkusen. Even goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma was benchmarked and his position was replaced by young goalkeeper James Trafford.

Not only Donnarumma but also Erling Haaland, Phil Foden and Bernardo Silva did not start in that match. The result? Despite dominating, but Man City's front line is less clinical aka losing power so they can't take advantage of the opportunities.

On the other hand, Leverkusen was able to score a goal through a counter-attack which was then completed by Alejandro Grimaldo. In the second half, Guardiola only included pillar players like Foden. Meanwhile Haaland entered in the middle of the round.

However, Haaland failed to contribute a goal. On the other hand, Leverkusen could even add more goals when striker Patrick Schick beat Trafford. The score 2-0 for Leverkusen and Man City was unable to catch up until the end of the match.

Too many changes, said Guardiola alluding to the player's rotation by leaving one pillar player, Nico Gonzalez, in that match.

Saya memang yakin dengan kompetisi yang panjang dan kami harus bermain setiap dua hari sekali, maka saya ingin semua pemain bisa dimainkan. Hanya saja, pergantian hingga 10 pemain memang terlalu banyak. Bila melihat hasil akhir, mereka pun enggak melakukan banyak kesalahan. Mereka justru sudah bermain seperti yang harus dilakukan," ucap dia lagi.

"We've actually played well, but only been less aggressive. On the other hand, the opponent is a good team," he said.

Apart from being wrong in terms of mathematics, it is unexpected to join a different team, Man City will still face difficulties in the next match in European competition. How not, The Cityzens will visit the Santiago Bernabeu to face European giant Real Madrid.

Man City also did not receive guarantees that they would be able to beat Bodo/Glimt or Galatasaray, which this season beat Liverpool 1-0. If they fail to meet the target, Man City may be knocked out of the top eight zone which passes automatically to the next round. But they can still compete in the playoffs.

"In my analysis, the team has trained well. They showed extraordinary readiness and we played at home in the Champions League. We were actually in a good position [to win]," said Guardiola.

Meanwhile, midfielder Tijjani Reijnders assessed that the team did not panic even though they lost at home. According to him, the team did not lose confidence and focused on facing the next match against Leeds United in domestic competitions.

"This defeat is indeed a big blow for us. But we will not lose confidence. We just need to get back on track. We also have to be ready for the game this weekend," said Reijnders.

Mentally, we are actually ready. We know what to do like previous matches. We will also not lose confidence because we are a quality team," he said.

"Of course, we don't panic. It's just that two consecutive defeats are not good. But chances are still open," said the former AC Milan midfielder.