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Man City Defeat: Guardiola Admits Mistakes With 10 Changes

E28 Staff1
Guardiola

Manchester City’s flawless Champions League streak came to a halt as they suffered a 2-0 defeat at the Etihad Stadium against Bayer Leverkusen. Pep Guardiola made 10 changes to his lineup, and the City boss openly took responsibility for the disappointing result.

Leverkusen Secures Victory with Grimaldo and Schick Goals

Alejandro Grimaldo and Patrik Schick scored to give the German side a comfortable win. The loss marks City’s first home defeat in the Champions League group stage since 2018, ending a run of 24 consecutive matches without losing at home.

Guardiola reflected on his decision to rotate the squad:

β€œπ‘»π’π’ π’Žπ’‚π’π’š π’„π’‰π’‚π’π’ˆπ’†π’”. π‘΄π’‚π’šπ’ƒπ’† π’Šπ’• π’˜π’‚π’” 𝒕𝒐𝒐 π’Žπ’‚π’π’š, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒖𝒍𝒕𝒔 π’”π’‚π’š 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕. 𝑰 π’•π’‚π’Œπ’† π’“π’†π’”π’‘π’π’π’”π’Šπ’ƒπ’Šπ’π’Šπ’•π’š. 𝑩𝒖𝒕 𝑰 π’”π’‚π’˜ π’•π’‰π’†π’Ž, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑰 π’π’Šπ’Œπ’† π’†π’—π’†π’“π’šπ’π’π’† 𝒕𝒐 π’‘π’π’‚π’š. 𝑾𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒂 𝒇𝒐𝒐𝒕𝒃𝒂𝒍𝒍 π’‘π’π’‚π’šπ’†π’“ 𝒅𝒐𝒆𝒔𝒏’𝒕 π’‘π’π’‚π’š π’‡π’Šπ’—π’†, π’”π’Šπ’™, 𝒐𝒓 𝒔𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏 π’ˆπ’‚π’Žπ’†π’”, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒆𝒕𝒖𝒑 π’ƒπ’†π’„π’π’Žπ’†π’” π’…π’Šπ’‡π’‡π’Šπ’„π’–π’π’•. π‘΄π’‚π’šπ’ƒπ’† π’Šπ’• π’˜π’‚π’” 𝒕𝒐𝒐 π’Žπ’‚π’π’š.”

Guardiola Takes Responsibility, Looks Ahead

The City manager admitted that his lineup choices were too radical, even though he believed each player performed exceptionally. β€œIt didn’t work, and we have to accept it. It was the first time in my life that I made such a decision. I take full responsibility for the loss,” Guardiola said. β€œIf we had won, there would have been no problem. So I accept that I have made a lot of changes to the team.”

Starting players included Erling Haaland, Ruben Dias, Bernardo Silva, and Gianluigi Donnarumma, but even their presence couldn’t prevent the setback.

Looking forward, Guardiola remains cautious but hopeful. Manchester City will face Real Madrid next month, followed by matches against Bodo/Glimt and Galatasaray. Guardiola emphasized the importance of focusing on the present:

β€œπ‘Ύπ’† π’”π’•π’Šπ’π’ 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒆𝒆 π’ˆπ’‚π’Žπ’†π’” 𝒍𝒆𝒇𝒕, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 π’˜π’† π’˜π’Šπ’π’ 𝒔𝒆𝒆 π’˜π’‰π’‚π’• 𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒆𝒏𝒔. 𝑰 𝒅𝒐𝒏’𝒕 π’˜π’‚π’π’• 𝒕𝒐 π’”π’‚π’š π’‚π’π’šπ’•π’‰π’Šπ’π’ˆ 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 π’˜π’‰π’‚π’• 𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒆𝒏𝒔 π’Šπ’ 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒖𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆. 𝑾𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒕𝒐 π’‘π’π’‚π’š 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒏𝒆𝒙𝒕 π’Žπ’‚π’•π’„π’‰ (𝑳𝒆𝒆𝒅𝒔) π’˜π’Šπ’•π’‰ π’„π’π’π’‡π’Šπ’…π’†π’π’„π’†.”

The defeat serves as a reminder that even the strongest teams can stumble, especially after extensive squad rotations. Guardiola’s candid admission highlights the fine balance between giving players opportunities and maintaining consistent team performance in the Champions League.

Also Read: Chelsea Crushes 10-Man Barcelona in Dominant Performance

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