Pep Guardiola took the blame for Manchester City’s 2-0 defeat to Bayer Leverkusen in the UEFA Champions League after making 10 changes to his starting line-up.
Guardiola decided to make 10 changes from his side’s Premier League defeat to Newcastle United on Saturday.
Nico Gonzalez was the only survivor from the trip to St James’ Park, with the likes of James Trafford, Nathan Ake and Oscar Bobb earning rare starts.
Before the match, Guardiola told TNT Sports that he would have rotated all eleven players if he could have, because his side needed “fresh legs” after a busy period.
But that decision came back to haunt him, as goals from Alex Grimaldo and Patrik Schick earned the visitors a vital three points in the race for a place in the knock-out stages.
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Speaking to TNT Sports after the game, Guardiola admitted it was probably an error of judgement to tinker so much with his starting XI.
“I understand your question,” Guardiola said. “Absolutely, I have to accept it. I have to accept that if we win, it will not be a problem.
“I accept that maybe it’s a lot, but I think they’re playing every two or three or four days, we need to… but maybe it’s too much. Seeing the result, maybe it’s too much.”
The defeat means City have lost back-to-back games for the first time since August. It is also the second Champions League game in which they have dropped points this season, and comes ahead of a trip to Real Madrid next month.
