Manchester City walked into this Champions League game needing a reaction after their weekend loss at Newcastle, which SoftFootball covered when Harvey Barnes led that upset at St James’ Park. Instead of bouncing back, City fell flat again. Leverkusen turned up with confidence, stuck to their plan, and walked out with a deserved 2-0 win at the Etihad.
Before the match, SoftFootball noted that City were still searching for their usual rhythm in Europe. Guardiola surprised everyone by changing almost his entire starting lineup. Haaland, Donnarumma, and a few other regulars started on the bench. It felt like a risky move from the first whistle, and it quickly became clear that City did not have the sharpness they needed.
Leverkusen were calm in the early stages, and their patience paid off. Christian Kofane hooked a clever ball into the box, and Alejandro Grimaldo met it with a clean first-time finish. The goal came in the 23rd minute, and it seemed to unsettle City more than expected. They kept most of the ball but created very little that truly worried goalkeeper Mark Flekken.
City tried to push forward again after the break, only to be caught out. Ibrahim Maza delivered a teasing cross, and Patrik Schick reacted faster than anyone else. His header bounced into the far corner, and suddenly Guardiola was turning to his bench for solutions.
Haaland had one big moment when he broke through on goal, but Flekken stood tall and stopped him. The goalkeeper had that type of night where everything stuck and also went home with the UEFA Man of the Match award, as shared on the club’s official X account.
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City kept swinging crosses in, hoping something would fall kindly, but Leverkusen stayed organised. Their back line hardly panicked, and Flekken made several confident saves as the minutes ran down.
The defeat drops City to sixth in the league phase standings with ten points, which now puts real pressure on their remaining fixtures. Leverkusen climb to thirteenth and will feel this result is more than just three points. It was a reminder that they can compete with anyone when their structure holds.
