"I Have To Accept It": Pep Guardiola Accepts Blame For His Squad Selection Following Manchester City's Loss To Bayer Leverkusen

While Pep Guardiola celebrated his new milestone as Manchester City manager in their match against Bayer Leverkusen, it was the visiting side's fans who got the final celebration at the final whistle.

The City coach was looking for a win in his 100th Champions League match as the Manchester side's manager; however, his side was handed a bitter 0-2 defeat following a bizarre starting XI change from the hosts. Following, City's Premier League defeat to Newcastle. Pep Guardiola made 10 changes in the starting XI against the Bundesliga side, with Nico Gonzalez being the only player to have played the two matches.

The likes of Erling Haaland, Phil Foden, and Gianluigi Donnarumma were on the bench as John Stones, Oscar Bobb, and James Trafford made it in the starting XI. After the loss, many pundits questioned Guardiola's decision to have the Norwegian goal machine on the bench instead of the field.

While reflecting on the criticisms, Pep admitted, "I understand. I understand your question. Absolutely, I have to accept it. I have to accept. If we win, it would not be a problem. I accept maybe it’s a lot, but playing every two, three, four days… But maybe it’s too much, you’re right. Seeing the result, maybe it’s too much."

Notably, Pep Guardiola has lost only 20 out of 100 games in charge of Manchester City in the Champions League.

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Leverkusen Boss Kasper Hjulmand On City's Changed Line-up

The Leverkusen manager reacted to the former Barcelona manager's line-up change and seemed to empathize with the latter's decision as he believed that all the teams have been running on a tight schedule this season, thus making changes in the line-ups seem understandable.

He shared, "It is a very tight programme for all teams. The normal rotation (number of changes) for a Champions League team is 5.5 players, but no matter who they put on the pitch is a quality team."

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Bayer Leverkusen Beats City 0-2 At Home

Skipper Alejandro Grimaldo's shot at the goal in the first half, followed by Patrick Schick's goal, gave the traveling side a shock victory. While speaking about the victory, the manager shared that this was a night to remember for the visiting team, as getting 3 points against Manchester City was not an easy job.