Guardiola Takes Responsibility After Manchester City’s Surprising Defeat
Manchester City coach Pep Guardiola expressed self-criticism after the unexpected 2-0 defeat against Bayer Leverkusen. The strategist admitted that his decision to make ten changes in the starting lineup was a key factor in the adverse result. The match marked City’s first home defeat in the Champions League group stage or league since 2018. Goals from Alejandro Grimaldo and Patrik Schick sealed the match.Guardiola pointed out that his intention to give opportunities to all players, who have not had much participation, could have been a strategic error. The defeat puts additional pressure on the team ahead of the next match against Real Madrid. The City has other matches against Bodo/Glimt and Galatasaray in January and will seek to finish in the top eight to avoid repeating the situation of last season, when they finished in 22nd place and faced Real Madrid in the playoff round. “We still have three games and we’ll see what happens. I don’t anticipate what will happen in the future. Now, we shouldn’t talk much, we have to clear our minds and think about Leeds,” Guardiola concluded.“Too many changes. Maybe it was too much, seeing the result. I take responsibility, but I wanted to involve everyone. I always like to be too nice, but it didn’t work and we must accept it. It was the first time I did it and it was too much,” Guardiola declared.
Pep Guardiola
