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PEP GUARDIOLA'S MILESTONE NIGHT FAILS FLAT, SHOCKING UCL DISPLAY
Pep Guardiola's shocking team selection was blamed for Man City's defeat. His 10 changes led to a disastrous 100th UCL game in charge.
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Reaching 100 games should be a party, but not this time. Pep Guardiola's 100th game managing Manchester City in the Champions League was one of their worst performances, and he carries a lot of the blame.
City lost not only thanks to the manager's overconfidence and a weak team showing, but also because Bayer Leverkusen played great. Guardiola chose his backups for a match between top teams, and they failed. It was a risk that didn't work out, especially with a match against Leeds coming up. Was resting his starters worth it for a team near relegation? This loss could make things hard for City in the next stage.
City has now dropped two straight, after Newcastle beat them. They might lose their next Champions League game against Real Madrid, too. All of a sudden, this group stage looks tricky. For Leverkusen, Alejandro Grimaldo and Patrick Schick scored good goals, proving how manager Kasper Hjulmand has turned things around after Erik ten Hag's short time there.
If Leverkusen messed up hiring the former Manchester United manager, Guardiola did the same with his team choices. If he wanted to show that City isn't a one-man team, it didn't work. His substitutes weren't good, and no one stepped up. Guardiola, who has won the league in Germany three times, seemed to underestimate the recent German champions.
Maybe City's solid start in the competition, with 10 points, made him feel safe. Or maybe it was their record of not losing at home in the group stage for 23 games. Leverkusen became the first team to beat them since Lyon in 2018.
Guardiola made 10 changes, with only Nico Gonzalez staying in the starting lineup. Even he wouldn't start if Rodri were healthy. Key players were missing at the start.
Guardiola had to bring on some players during halftime, taking off others who weren't playing well. Later, more players joined. One player who usually does well against German teams didn't do much and was subbed out.
A top player came on to try to save the situation and almost kept his scoring streak going, but the Leverkusen goalkeeper made a save. The goalkeeper also saved a free kick. The subs made a difference, but the starters made it too hard.
The goalkeeper played great, but he didn't have to do much in the first half. Guardiola's starting lineup cost a lot, but City was flat. The goalkeeper made a good save, but City's backups didn't create much. Then, Leverkusen took control, and the goalkeeper made another save. Maybe it was the dullness before halftime that made Guardiola make changes, or maybe it was because Leverkusen was winning.
Leverkusen scored first. It was a great goal for one of the manager's best signings. A key player from Leverkusen's title-winning team is still there, and he helped score the second goal.
Another Leverkusen player scored as well.
Leverkusen showed that a team can win, and a team with injuries can defend well. They stayed calm and managed the game. Their Champions League started badly, with three games without a win and one 7-2 loss.
City was supposed to be tough, but this was a great win for Leverkusen. The city and Guardiola aren't used to nights like this. His team and he messed up this time.
THE ANTOINE SEMENYO IMPACT: ANALYZING THE £62.5M SIGNING’S SEAMLESS FIT INTO CITY’S SYSTEM
Guardiola eyes a fourth straight FA Cup final after a 10-1 rout. Discover how new signing Semenyo and star Rodri fueled the win.
Pep Guardiola isn’t backing off—he’s going all in. After smashing Exeter 10-1, he’s already dreaming of another slice of history with Manchester City: a fourth straight FA Cup final.
Honestly, Saturday couldn’t have been a better chance for him to give his tired squad a break. The team has been limping along with injuries, dropping points in their last three league games. You’d expect Guardiola to fill the lineup with academy kids against a League One team, especially with the Carabao Cup semi, the Manchester derby, and the Champions League all looming in the next two weeks.
But no. Even though he started the week with only two senior centre-backs available, he somehow got three on the pitch for the last two games. Haaland kept his spot, and Rodri, Rayan Cherki, and new £62.5 million signing Antoine Semenyo all started this one. Bernardo Silva and Jeremy Doku? They didn’t even step on the field until City was already six up, an hour in.
For the 8,000 Exeter fans who made the trip to the Etihad, it was a night to remember—just not the way they hoped. The lineup alone killed off any real dreams of a cup upset (or a big payday) before the whistle blew. Max Alleyne, still riding the high from a dream week, bagged the opener at 12 minutes. Guardiola, stuck in the stands serving a one-game ban for too many yellow cards, barely needed to move. The city put on a clinic.
Ryan McAidoo, just 17 and fresh from Chelsea this year, was bright down the right wing. He set up the first and fourth goals smartly. Rodri smashed in City’s second—his first goal since May—and made a point of saluting the fans after what’s been a rough year and a half for him.
Semenyo, a little quiet early on, came alive in the second half—first with a slick assist for Rico Lewis, then a sharp finish of his own before Guardiola subbed him off. Sure, Exeter’s not the toughest test, but you could see already that he fits right in. If he’s pushing Doku for minutes, that’s exactly the kind of depth Guardiola craves.
A 10-1 win, and none of them scored by Haaland—that’s the sort of performance Guardiola lives for. It ties his biggest margin as City boss, matching the 9-0 rout of Burton back in 2019. That year, City went on to sweep every domestic trophy.
This squad doesn’t look as stacked as that team from seven years ago, not even close. Still, they look a lot better than they did just a week back. As they head to Newcastle for the semi-final, City will take that any day.
GOAL DROUGHT OVER: RODRI FINDS THE NET FOR THE FIRST TIME IN 20 MONTHS
Manchester City crush Exeter City 10-1 in the FA Cup. Rodri breaks his drought, and Rico Lewis shines in a historic Etihad rout.
Rodri finally broke his goal drought—the first one in 20 months—and Rico Lewis grabbed two as Pep Guardiola’s side tore through the League One visitors at the Etihad on Saturday.
It all started with Max Alleyne, who opened the floodgates with his first senior goal. Then came a pair of own goals, quickly followed by strikes from Tijjani Reijnders, Nico O’Reilly, and 17-year-old Ryan McAidoo. It was relentless.
Exeter did have one thing to cheer about: George Birch unleashed a brilliant late strike, a consolation, but at least something to take home.
The city needed this. After three straight draws in the Premier League and a Carabao Cup semi-final looming, they finally had a day where everything clicked. Honestly, it couldn’t have been much easier. It was their biggest win since hammering Huddersfield by the same score back in 1987. They also battered Burton 9-0 in 2019, but days like these don’t come often.
Guardiola wasn’t on the touchline—serving a one-match ban—but his intent was clear. He made six changes, sure, but the lineup was stacked. Semenyo went straight in for his debut after a huge move from Bournemouth, and both Rodri and Haaland started.
There was some youth sprinkled in—McAdoo making his debut, Alleyne keeping his spot from the midweek match—but this was a strong City side.
Exeter almost shocked everyone early. Liam Oakes rose above the City defence from a corner, but James Trafford tipped his header over. That was as close as they got.
From there, City took over. Alleyne poked home after a scramble in the box just 12 minutes in—he was at Watford on loan at the start of the month, and now he’s scoring at the Etihad. Rodri doubled the lead soon after, smashing in a 25-yarder after Semenyo’s shot was blocked. Big moment for Rodri, who’s been fighting back from injury for a while.
Before halftime, two own goals killed the game. The first was messy—nobody seemed sure if it bounced in off Fitzwater, Doyle-Hayes, or even City’s Nathan Ake. The second, same thing: Reijnders whipped in a cross, and it pinged in with Fitzwater and Doyle-Hayes both in the mix. Either way, Exeter was done.
The second half was a walk. Lewis volleyed in from a Semenyo cross for the fifth, then Semenyo got on the scoresheet himself, racing onto a long ball and sliding it past Joe Whitworth. Reijnders curled in a beauty for the seventh, O’Reilly headed in a Lewis cross for the eighth, and McAidoo smashed in from outside the box for number nine.
Birch did give Exeter fans something to cheer—he hammered one into the top corner late on. But City wasn’t finished. Lewis slammed home a bouncing ball in stoppage time to wrap up a wild afternoon.
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