Manchester City lost 0-2 to Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League after Pep Guardiola made 10 changes to the squad.
Many have argued that Man City are over-reliant on Erling Haaland, but this defeat – their first home defeat in the Champions League group/classification stage in seven years – highlights a bigger issue of squad depth. Guardiola admits “too many changes” “Maybe I changed too much,”
Pep Guardiola said after the game. He rotated his entire squad , keeping just one player from the previous game, which is rare for City outside of the League Cup. Haaland was rested and only came on in the second half, but he couldn’t make a difference. Without Rodri, City’s midfield was vulnerable to counter-attacks – and both Leverkusen goals came from quick runs. Meanwhile, City’s attack was unable to overcome the defensive errors. This is not a young squad. Of the starting 11, nine are likely to be at next summer’s World Cup, except for Rico Lewis and Nico Gonzalez. In other words, this is a “reserve” squad but still full of international players. However, they are still outclassed by Leverkusen – the team in third place in the Bundesliga. This defeat makes it two consecutive losses for City and shows that they have not yet reached the level of the team that won the championship four consecutive seasons. Many say City are too reliant on Haaland, and the statistics back that up: their second-highest Premier League scorer this season is still… “a Maxime Esteve own goal”. Haaland played just over 25 minutes against Leverkusen but still generated the team’s highest expected goals (xG) of 0.62, despite not scoring.
The defeat exposed the fact that City do not have the depth to sustain consistent form when playing every three days – a situation they will face consistently between now and mid-January. Guardiola may have to decide which league to prioritise: Premier League or Champions League. His heavy rotation against Leverkusen suggests he is focused on the upcoming game against Leeds , with City seven points behind Arsenal. But if City lose to Real Madrid next week,
Pep will be forced to focus on the Champions League to keep his place in the top eight. Paradoxical comparison with Arsenal There was also a touch of irony in the defeat : the last time City lost at home in the Champions League group stage was in September 2018, when Guardiola was suspended and Mikel Arteta was in temporary charge that day. Now Arteta has turned Arsenal into a genuine European contender – with a much deeper squad. While Pep has to rely on Oscar Bobb or Lewis as a plan B, Arteta can switch between Bukayo Saka, Noni Madueke or Martin Odegaard and still retain his strength. Guardiola used to have a squad that was “strong everywhere”, but now, with a tight schedule and injuries surrounding it, City is losing what used to make the difference: depth and competitiveness in each position.
