Guardiola deployed a much-changed XI from Man City’s weekend defeat at St. James’ Park, trusting his fringe players to get past Bayer Leverkusen. While Erling Haaland, Jérémy Doku, Bernardo Silva and Phil Foden looked on, the Cityzens got off to a dominant start at the Etihad.

While the players stood in the tunnel waiting on the away side to emerge for the second half, a group huddled around Guardiola as he reeled off tactical instructions. He spoke with Phil Foden, Nico O’Reilly and Jeremy Doku, filling their head with enthusiastic messages, as Rico Lewis, Oscar Bobb and Rayan Ait-Nouri were sacrificed.

Bayer Leverkusen coach Kasper Hjulmand said that his team took lessons from games against Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich, which helped them defeat Manchester City 2-0 in the Champions League on Tuesday.

Man City vs. Leverkusen in the Champions League kicks off at 8 p.m. GMT on Nov. 25. This fixture takes place at the City of Manchester Stadium. Man City vs. Leverkusen is available to live stream for free on Virgin Media Player.

Former Manchester City midfielder Michael Brown says Pep Guardiola's squad rotation gave Bayer Leverkusen the "belief" needed to secure a memorable win at Etihad Stadium. Guardiola made 10 changes to the side that lost at Newcastle on Saturday but the decision backfired as City slumped to a second consecutive defeat.

Bayer Leverkusen stunned Manchester City with a memorable 2-0 Champions League win on Tuesday, punishing Pep Guardiola’s heavily rotated side with a disciplined and fearless performance. Kasper Hjulmand’s team pulled off a surprise victory at the Etihad Stadium as they outplayed the European giants,

Alejandro Grimaldo and Patrik Schick scored as Bayer Leverkusen beat Manchester City to move 13th in the Champions League standings.

Manchester City suffered their first home defeat in a Champions League group/league-phase match since 2018 as Bayer Leverkusen punished a heavily rotated side at the Etihad Stadium.Pep Guardiola made