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.
PEP GUARDIOLA REFUSES TO GUARANTEE RODRI’S RETURN FOR MONDAY’S PREMIER LEAGUE CLASH
Pep Guardiola provides the latest injury news on Rodri, Ruben Dias, and Josko Gvardiol ahead of a crucial title race clash at Everton.
Pep Guardiola has shared the latest on Manchester City's injury situation ahead of Monday’s Premier League match against Everton at the Hill Dickinson Stadium.
City is in good form right now. They came from behind to beat Southampton 2-1 in the FA Cup semi-final last weekend, making it six wins in a row across all competitions.
But they’ve had to do it without Rodri. He's missed their last two matches, including a tight 1-0 win at Burnley, after hurting his groin against Arsenal a couple of weeks back. Guardiola recently told reporters that Rodri is getting better, but the team’s been cautious and isn’t rushing him back.
At his latest press conference on Friday, Guardiola said Rodri still hasn’t returned to training, so they’re just taking it day by day. There's hope, but Guardiola wouldn’t give any guarantees about Rodri’s chances of playing against Everton. "He’s getting better. Still, he didn't train with us, so we’ll see in the next few days,” he said. When pressed about his confidence, Pep just replied, “I am always confident.”
With Rodri still not training, it sounds like a last-minute decision on whether he’ll play. A start against Everton seems unlikely. That probably means Nico González, who scored the winner against Southampton, will keep his spot in midfield next to Bernardo Silva. Maybe Nico O’Reilly slides into central midfield, too, if he isn’t covering at left-back.
It’s not all good news in defence either. Ruben Dias is still out with the ankle injury that’s kept him sidelined for the last six games, and Josko Gvardiol is recovering from the tibial fracture he picked up in January. Both are working their way back, and Guardiola says they’re improving, but there’s no sign of a return just yet.
Turning to the Everton game, City could head into it trailing Arsenal by six points if the Gunners beat Fulham on Saturday. With the title race this tight, City can’t afford to slip up.
Guardiola knows Monday will be tough. “Everton have always been tough,” he said. “Old Everton was so cool and so British, and I loved to go there, but in the new stadium, they are defending really well, and it has always been tough." He’s not taking recent Everton results lightly, adding, 'They're fighting for a place in Europe. We won with two or three actions here, but we were not good at that moment. We can’t have any result but win, win, win.”
Everton won’t be easy, especially away, but City can at least take confidence from their strong record of 17 league games unbeaten against the Toffees. They won the reverse fixture 2-0, with Haaland scoring both goals. Still, Guardiola isn’t expecting it to be straightforward.
MANCHESTER CITY’S REQUEST TO RESCHEDULE PIVOTAL PREMIER LEAGUE TIES BRUTALLY DENIED
The Premier League has rejected Man City’s plea to swap Palace and Bournemouth matches. See City's brutal end-of-season schedule.
Manchester City are on the hunt for another domestic treble just seven years after the last one. Pep Guardiola pulled it off in 2018/19 with wins in the Premier League, FA Cup, and Carabao Cup. Now he's got his sights set on doing it again.
City’s deep run in the cups has created a mess for their league schedule. Their home game against Crystal Palace, which was supposed to happen during the Carabao Cup final weekend on March 22, got bumped. Same thing with their trip to Bournemouth, originally set for the day after the FA Cup final.
There’s a hold-up with rescheduling Palace; the Eagles’ Conference League semi-final run means they’ve got barely any free midweek dates. The match was pencilled in for Wednesday, May 13, but things got complicated when City reached the FA Cup Final, and Bournemouth got postponed too. The city asked the Premier League if they could play Bournemouth on Tuesday, May 12, then face Palace a week later, to squeeze in an extra recovery day before the Wembley showdown. Plus, that would give them the bonus of finishing their last two league games at home. But the Premier League usually insists that the fixture that was originally scheduled first in this case, Palace, gets played first.
According to The Mirror, City’s request was shot down. So now Guardiola’s team has to cram their last four matches into just 12 days: Palace visits on May 13, then the FA Cup Final, Bournemouth away on May 19, and finally wrapping things up at home to Aston Villa on May 24.
They couldn't play Bournemouth on May 20 because that’s the Europa League final night, and UEFA didn’t want any Premier League games stealing the spotlight when Aston Villa or Nottingham Forest could be involved.
The Mirror says the revised fixture dates and kick-off times are coming out today. Chelsea, also FA Cup finalists, will play their rescheduled match against Tottenham on May 19.
City still has to travel to Everton next Monday and host Brentford on Saturday, May 9. Then comes their jam-packed finish, starting with Palace.
Meanwhile, title rivals Arsenal will be hoping City’s crowded schedule works in their favour. Though Arsenal has its own challenge, a Champions League semi-final against Atletico Madrid is spread across the next two midweeks.
Arsenal closes out its league campaign with home games against Fulham and Burnley and trips to West Ham and Palace.
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