In the first 45 minutes against Bayer Leverkusen, Pep Guardiola showed his disappointment when Man City only created 2 real chances and were behind 0-1. That caused him to make three substitutions in the middle of the half. That was only the second time in the last 7 years at the Etihad that the Spanish coach had done so.
Before he could hear the final whistle, Pep Guardiola urged Phil Foden and his key players to start immediately. He called Foden, Nico O'Reilly and Jeremy Doku into a small group to convey tactics, while Rico Lewis, Oscar Bobb and Rayan Ait-Nouri were withdrawn.
This was the 86th match in which Man City were behind in the half-time of Guardiola's 552 games in charge of Man City.
However, this is only the 4th time he has made 3 substitutions at half-time, the previous 3 times were all "hannic" when The Citizens were having a big win over Norwich or Birmingham, or the match against Southampton in the 2023 League Cup when they were behind 0-2.
Only once did Man City meet Southampton and were forced to turn around because the original plan completely failed and Leverkusen repeated that.
Kasper Hjulmand, who is reviving Leverkusen after a chaotic period under Erik ten Hag, has joined a group of coaches that forced Pep Guardiola to change his strategy like that.
Even when O'Reilly, Foden, Doku and Cherki and Haaland were sent in from the 65th minute, Man City still could not escape the "collective sleeping" situation, eventually losing 0-2. This was the first home defeat in the Champions League group stage since a 1-2 defeat to Lyon in 2018.
Pep Guardiola did not take the match lightly. He called it a real final and decided to replace 10/11 positions compared to the last 3 Premier League matches. Only Nico Gonzalez has kept his starting position. James Trafford, Khusanov, Stones, Ake, Ait-Nouri, Lewis, Reijnders, Bobb, Savio and Marmoush were given the opportunity as most of them have only played under 550 minutes since the start of the season.
However, instead of being eager to fight, they played as if they were afraid of making mistakes. The pressing block almost disappeared, the defense was constantly violated and communication between lines was almost empty.
In the post-match press conference, Pep Guardiola spoke a lot to explain the reasons for the rotation such as being overloaded in the competition, physical condition, and wanting everyone to feel their role. However, he also wondered if he was too soft?
I take responsibility for wanting everyone to play football, but it is a mistake to change too much - Pep admitted.
This is not the first time Pep has boldly experimented in the European Cup, but this time is especially confusing as Man City are about to meet Leeds - a team in crisis in the Premier League. Obviously, rotating up to 10 people is unimaginable when playing in the Champions League.
In the context that Man City need at least 16 points to safety in the next round, this defeat caused them trouble. They still have 3 matches against Galatasaray, Real Madrid and Bodo/Glimt but neither team wants to go to Bernabeu or the round of the ice with 3 points.
The problem is not just failure, it exposes the fact that Pep Guardiola certainly did not want to face it, which is different from his peak, when Man City could change half of the squad but did not affect the quality. Now, the gap between the main and reserve teams is clearer than ever.
A year ago, when The Citizens struggled through the qualifying round with 11 points and only continued thanks to a goal difference, a slip like this was still normal.
However, at present, when they need to prove that they are still a championship candidate, the defeat against Leverkusen is meaningful because Pep cannot trust many reserve positions in big matches.
In a harsh season like the new format of the Champions League, that imbalance could become a deadly weakness for Man City.
