Manchester City succumbed to a surprise 2-0 defeat to Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League at the Etihad Stadium, paying dearly for Pep Guardiola’s bold rotation policy.
With a packed fixture list and Saturday’s loss at Newcastle still fresh, Guardiola made sweeping changes, leaving Erling Haaland, Gianluigi Donnarumma, and several other first-choice players on the bench. Only Nico González kept his place from the weekend.
The gamble backfired spectacularly as a depleted Leverkusen side, missing twelve players and humiliated 7-2 by PSG just weeks ago, produced a disciplined, dangerous display to claim a famous victory.
The visitors struck first in the 23rd minute. Ibrahim Maza whipped in a cross from the right, Christian Kofane cleverly dummied, and Alejandro Grimaldo smashed the ball home.
City, despite dominating possession, looked toothless without Haaland. An early Nathan Aké effort was saved by ex-Brentford keeper Mark Flekken, but genuine chances were scarce.
Guardiola responded at half-time with a triple substitution: Phil Foden, Nico O’Reilly, and Jérémy Doku, yet the pattern remained the same.
Leverkusen doubled their lead nine minutes into the second half when Patrik Schick outjumped Aké to glance Maza’s delivery past James Trafford with a brilliant header.
Haaland finally entered the fray just past the hour mark and almost made an instant impact, racing onto a Foden pass, only for Flekken to deny him.
City pressed harder in the closing stages, but England youth international Jarell Quansah, once of Liverpool, marshalled Leverkusen’s defence superbly alongside his teammates.
Late efforts from Haaland and a Rayan Cherki free-kick came to nothing. The result ends City’s unbeaten run in this season’s league phase and leaves their hopes of a top-eight finish looking far less secure ahead of a daunting trip to Real Madrid.
For Guardiola, the night served as a stark reminder that even the deepest squads can be exposed when too many key players are rested at once.
Leverkusen, meanwhile, celebrated one of their finest European nights under Xabi Alonso’s successor, proving their resilience despite an injury crisis.
