Pep changes 10 players and loses his 100th European game with City
Reading Time: 3min | Wed. 26.11.25. | 07:02
Leverkusen used their chances better and left England with a 2-0 win
"I wanted 11 but I don't have the players to do that. We have to do it together. We have a lot of games, fresh legs, everyone is involved. That is why they are Man City players, they are very good players“ said Pep Guardiola when a shocking line-up was revealed. The Spaniard changed 10 players which started against Newcastle over the weekend and kept only Nico Gonzalez in the starting line-up. The result? 2-0 for Bayer, Guardiola‘s defeat in his 100th Champions League game as City boss, and a first win for any German side at the Etihad since 2013. That year, Bayern Munich won in England with Guardiola on the bench for the Bavarians.
With this unnecessary loss, the Citizens have now dropped to sixth place and could even drop out of the top 8 (which are guaranteed to advance to the next stage) if teams like PSG, Real and Liverpool win on Wednesday. It looks like Guardola either believed too much in his reserve players, who didn‘t do much to justify that trust, or he just thinks that his best players will be able to win against Real Madrid, Galatasaray and Bodo/Glimpt and secure a top 8 finish at the end of the group stage.
City should have scored after five minutes already, but Bayer‘s keeper Flekken made a superb save and denied Ake from five meters. Leverkusen had a half-chance in the 11th minute when Grimaldo created a good chance but Ait-Nouri came in the last minute to block it. But former Barca youngster used his chance 10 minutes later and brough a shock lead to Leverkusen at the Etihad. Reijnders finally started the game and should have justified Guardiola‘s choice with an equalizer in the 45th minute, but Flekken was again fantastic.
8 – Alejandro Grimaldo scored his 8th goal for Bayer 04 Leverkusen in all competitions this season, the most of any player for the club in 2025-26 and twice as many as he managed last season (4 in 48 apps). Leader. pic.twitter.com/qKHbvSt3sF
— OptaFranz (@OptaFranz) November 25, 2025
Guardiola decided to stick with the starting 11 but Leverkusen increased the lead in the 54th minute, when Maza took a glorious cross into the City penalty area. Schick was the highest above all players in the box and it was 2-0 already. Guardiola decided to give Haaland and Cherki a chance in the 65th minute and the Norway striker immediately found himself in a good opportunity but Flekken was there again. Cherki was the next one to test the Leverkusen keeper twice (in the 85th and 87th minute) but with no luck.
UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE - MATCHDAY 5
Tuesday
Ajax - Benfica 0-2 (0-1)
/Dahl 6, Barreiro 90/
Galatasaray - St. Gilloise 0-1 (0-0)
/David 57/
Bodo - Juventus 2-3 (1-0)
/Blomberg 27, Fet 87(p)- Openda 48, McKennie 59, David 90+1/
Chelsea - Barcelona 3-0 (1-0)
/Kounde 17(og), Estevao 55, Delap 73/
Dortmund - Villareal 4-0 (1-0)
/Guriassy 45+2, 54, Adeyemi 58, Svensson 90+5/
Man.City - Leverkusen 0-2 (0-1)
/Grimaldo 23, Schick 54/
Napoli - Qarabag 2-0 (0-0)
/McTominay 65, Jankovic 72(og)/
Olympique Marseille - Newcastle 2-1 (0-1)
/Aubameyang 46, 50 - Barnes 6/
Slavia Praha - Ath.Bilbao 0-0
Wednesday
20.45: (1.35) Copenhagen (5.50) Kairat Almaty (10.0)
20.45: (5.10) Paphos (3.70) Monaco (1.70)
23.00: (2.25) Arsenal (3.65) Bayern (3.20)
23.00: (2.35) Atl.Madrid (3.50) Inter (3.20)
23.00: (2.60) Eintr.Frankfurt (3.50) Atalanta (2.85)
23.00: (1.35) Liverpool (5.80) PSV (9.00)
23.00: (7.20) Olympiakos (5.20) Real Madrid (1.42)
23.00: (1.37) PSG (5.10) Tottenham (7.75)
23.00: (1.70) Sporting (4.30) Club Brugge (4.80)
***odds are subject to change***
