Champions League
City coach Guardiola on XXL rotation: “I failed”
In the first duel with Bayer Leverkusen in the premier class, Pep Guardiola made an unprecedented rotation – the starting eleven changed, Haaland was on the bench for a long time. After bankruptcy, the Manchester coach regretted it.
After Manchester City’s Champions League defeat against Bayer Leverkusen, coach Pep Guardiola identified his XXL rotation in the lineup as the reason for the collapse. After making ten changes to the starting line-up and leaving top scorer Erling Haaland on the bench for a long time, the star coach blamed: “It’s the first time in my life I’ve done that. There were too many changes. It was my instinct – but I failed.”
In the first Champions League duel with a top English club, Werkself achieved a surprising 2-0 (1-0) away win. For Guardiola, it was his 100th game in the premier class as City coach – and the first defeat in the Champions League this season.
“I feel it. We have a full program and games every two or three days. We are in a good position and I think we will try,” said Guardiola, explaining the many changes to the starting line-up. But the result was clear: “It didn’t work.”
dpa
