Five Things Learned: Manchester City 0-2 Bayer Leverkusen (UEFA Champions League) | OneFootball

Manchester City lost their second game in a row in a somewhat confused and disorganised display against Bayer Leverkusen on Tuesday evening.

Pep Guardiola named a side with no less than 10 changes after Saturday’s 2-1 defeat to Newcastle. Only Nico Gonzalez got the nod to start in both games, a near certainty with both Rodri and Mateo Kovacic ruled out through injury.

The visitors took the lead in the 23rd minute after an effort from Alejandro Grimaldo, who wandered into the box unmarked, was struck cleanly past a diving James Trafford. Approaching half-time, Tijjani Reijnders danced past the Leverkusen defence only to launch the ball straight into Mark Flekken’s arms – a wasted chance that summed up City’s night.

Shortly after the break, Czech striker Patrik Schick climbed above Nathan Ake with ease to head the ball home, sealing the win for the German side.

Leverkusen’s wing-back system proved too much for City to deal with at both ends of the pitch. Their ability to drop back into a low block saw the Blues struggle to create many high-quality chances. At the same time, their ability to stretch the field saw the City defence struggle to cut out attacks far more than we had become used to seeing.

The 2-0 defeat is Manchester City’s first setback in the UEFA Champions League this season, leaving them at risk of falling out of the top ten depending on Wednesday night’s results. All is far from lost however, with the Blues sitting firmly within the qualification spots – but the last two performances will have fans understandably worried.

Here are five things we learned from Manchester City’s 2-0 defeat to Bayer Leverkusen.

1. One change too many

When the line-up was announced, very few would have expected to see a team that featured 10 changes from the defeat to Newcastle on Saturday. With a team that saw Gianluigi Donnarumma and Erling Haaland dropped to the bench, nobody could have known quite what to expect from Guardiola’s selected team.

What followed was a largely disjointed and toothless performance at a time when a midweek confidence boost was much-needed for a squad in transition in the backdrop of a signifiant rehash of the first-team ranks in the summer.

Blaming a group of players who have spent large parts of the season occupying the bench would be unreasonable; it would, however, be fair to question why so many changes were made in a competition where every point matters.

Sharpness and confidence will be key if Manchester City have any hope of catching up to Arsenal at the summit of the Premier League. You can’t help but feel that the defeat may have done more damage than good for some, though, especially for those who were removed at half-time.

Nobody can say Pep didn’t warn them, though; he has frequently stated his preference for a smaller squad in hopes of avoiding such situations.

2. Defensive frailties remain an issue

It would be harsh to suggest that Leverkusen didn’t deserve their goals. Kasper Hjulmand’s side played exceptionally well in transition and took their chances extremely well. That doesn’t stop both goals from being somewhat frustrating.

Grimaldo was allowed acres of space to wander into as John Stones and Abdukodir Khusanov both found themselves marking Leverkusen’s Christian Kofane. Admittedly, we have seen far worse from the City defence in the last season – but it’s exactly this kind of lapse in judgement that will see you punished on a European night.

As for the second goal, the visitos carved their way through the middle of the field with little challenge before Schick nodded the ball into the net with shockingly little resistance from Ake.

With Ake having struggled to get game time this season, it’s hard to condemn him for failing to keep Schick at bay – but as City look to improve on last season’s woes, you’d be forgiven for wanting to see one of the squad’s most senior players put up a bit more of a fight.

3. Clinical edge lacking

The brilliance of Erling Haaland has allowed Manchester City to get away with some extremely lacklustre attacking play this season. Tuesday night’s game should act as a wake-up call to City’s attackers, yet another clear sign that an over-reliance on Haaland’s output is no longer sustainable.

From Reijnders’ huge first-half chance to Savinho’s strike across goal early in the second half, City had more than their fair share of chances. Plenty has been said about players such as Savinho and Oscar Bobb this season, but this is an issue far from unique to the duo.

The story was the same in the Newcastle defeat, the chances are there but no one seems to want to take them. There was a time that this sort of performance in the final third would be classed as uncharacteristic, unfortunately, it seems to be the norm lately.

There is a silver lining, though. The opportunities are coming with regularity. With Kevin De Bruyne’s departure in the summer, there was a genuine concern that Guardiola’s side might struggle to create chances. Instead, the issue is that they struggle to convert them.

City took 19 shots, over twice as many as Leverkusen’s seven – an all too familiar tale at this point. The service may not always be up to the standard that we all grew so accustomed to, but it is there. Finding silver linings does become increasingly hard when the team continues to be so wasteful week in week out, though.

4. Savinho still struggling

After a prolonged summer transfer saga, it is completely understandable that Savinho has struggled to find his form this season. Three months and a brand new contract later, you would hope that the winger might have started to move past these struggles. Whether it’s a lack of confidence or a lack of desire is unclear, what is clear is that something is amiss.

In his first season in England, the Brazilian often struggled in front of goal but frequently showed flashes of brilliance and produced more than his fair share of opportunities for others. This season has been a different story, the 21-year-old looks like a shell of himself at times as he struggles to impact the majority of games in any meaningful way.

When John Stones found him with a long-range pass in the 57th minute, Savinho was presented the perfect opportunity to not only change the game but to change the entire narrative surrounding him, the Brazilian instead struggled to connect properly and sent the ball across the face of the goal.

Far from the only example, it’s this play that sums up his game against Leverkusen and the season so far, lacking any clinical edge in front of goal and lacking confidence.

5. Unexpected opportunities for Trafford

Donnarumma has made a near-perfect start to life in Manchester, making himself the guaranteed first name on the team sheet, or so we thought.

James Trafford’s inclusion in Tuesday’s fixture was perhaps the most shocking of all the changes as reports continue to suggest that he could be destined for an early exit from his boyhood club, amidst uncertainty regarding his future opportunities.

The English shotstopper should feel encouraged despite the result, his involvements are no longer limited to Carabao Cup minutes.

While the scoreline against Leverkusen doesn’t exactly flatter him, the 22-year-old can walk away with his head held high as he offered a display that may feel slightly more familiar to City fans, with some confident – if a little risky – sweeping and a comfortable ball-playing display.

He may not have had a huge amount to do either side of the two goals, but by equal measure, Trafford will have done very little to dissuade Guardiola from calling on him again should the need arise.

None of this is to say that Trafford will be making regular starts, what it does show is that you can never rule him out of contention. With Donnarumma only two bookings away from a Premier League ban, there is reason to believe that this won’t be the last time we see rotation between the sticks for City.