November 26, (THEWILL) — Manchester City suffered a 2-0 defeat to Bayer Leverkusen in what marked Pep Guardiola’s 100th match managing the club in the UEFA Champions League. Goals from Alejandro Grimaldo and Patrik Schick ensured the German side claimed all three points, handing City their first loss in the competition this season.
Guardiola made sweeping changes to his starting lineup, with 10 alterations from the team that lost to Newcastle United. Only Nico Gonzalez retained his place. Despite early pressure from the hosts, with Nathan Ake and Tijjani Reijnders testing Mark Flekken, Leverkusen took the lead in the 23rd minute when Grimaldo fired home after Christian Kofane’s lay-off.
City continued to threaten Flekken’s goal before half-time, but the Dutch goalkeeper stood firm. Early in the second period, Schick extended the visitors’ advantage with a powerful header that beat James Trafford.
Erling Haaland entered the game from the bench but could not breach Leverkusen’s defence. Flekken denied Rayan Cherki’s late free-kick to preserve the clean sheet and complete a frustrating evening for the English Premier League side.
The result leaves City trailing their rivals in the Champions League standings. Guardiola’s decision to rotate heavily backfired, with his team unable to break down Kasper Hjulmand’s well-organised defensive unit.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
