Pep Guardiola may have accidentally cost Man City an 'incredible' bonus

Pep Guardiola made a rare selection mistake against Leverkusen but Manchester City fans feeling they are being shortchanged is becoming more regular

Back in the early years of Pep Guardiola at Manchester City, one fan who couldn't afford to go to many games but liked to see academy players given a chance bought a ticket for an FA Cup third round match with Rotherham. The match was a few days after what would prove to be an epic 2-1 win over Liverpool in the Premier League and the fan's hope was that there would be plenty of changes.

And there were - eight, to be precise - but other than the generational talent of Phil Foden it was the likes of Kyle Walker, Kevin De Bruyne, Ilkay Gundogan and Riyad Mahrez coming into the team. City won 7-0, and the fan left long before full-time having not really seen what they were hoping for - although witnessing the Blues win every domestic competition going that season was some consolation.

You can take a couple of things from that story, but it has always been useful to illustrate how strong Guardiola goes in every competition. It isn't often as formidable as that in the cup competitions, yet you can never rule it out. The opposite, which happened on Tuesday night against Leverkusen as Guardiola made 10 changes for a Champions League game where City are far from their goal of a top-eight spot, felt unprecedented.

"It was the first time in my life I've done it and it was too much," said Guardiola afterwards. And that is fine. At least he owned up to it, and it is his reputation and those of his players to ensure that it is a one-off. The £1.8m that would have come with a win is lost but City have plenty of time left this season to show that they are much better than that and can challenge for the Premier League and Champions League.

The bigger problem for Guardiola may well be that while his decision was a one-off, the experiences of supporters feeling like they are being short-changed by the club is very much not. Longstanding concerns over atmosphere and affordability remain, relocating fans as part of the North Stand expansion has proven unpopular - as has the lack of communication given to the affected fans - and there are complaints every home game about how difficult it can be to transfer tickets if season ticket holders are ill or suddenly unavailable to attend.

The vast majority of this grumbling is not to make trouble for the club or to give them a bad name, it is simply because supporters would like them to be better and to treat them with more consideration in a society where everything has felt more grim since the pandemic. Football at its best can be escapism, but when it adds to the problems of people it is not healthy.

Guardiola is unfortunate that his rare selection mishap came against that backdrop just as the club could not have anticipated the galaxy brain thinking from their manager, but the end result was that it left anyone who had paid to watch on Tuesday night feeling reticent from the moment the XI was named. As one fan said afterwards: "You pay good money, treat your 13-year-old to a Champions League game (on a school night), see the team sheet, sit down stunned and then see the inevitable."

Not for the first time in the last year, a game was galling for many supporters. They shouldn't expect to win every week, but the least that they can expect is the application of the same standards that have applied throughout Guardiola's time at City. If this defeat means City have a play-off rather than qualifying automatically in the top-eight, will everyone on the cup scheme have their ticket paid for?

They won't, and they shouldn't, because you sign up for a certain level of uncertainty in football. City fans have seen everything won under Guardiola, so they can have no complaints about value for money over the last decade. Yet as supporters weigh up whether to stay on the cup scheme, or splash out on an extra ticket next season, the miserable night against Leverkusen could influence thinking - and it will help nobody to see the club lose those willing and loyal fans.

Ironically, Guardiola's programme notes on Tuesday harked back to the 3-0 thumping of Liverpool. "The atmosphere you guys created was special and my players were superb," he said. "On days like that, our stadium is an incredible place to play football, so thank you."

City hope that their shock defeat on Tuesday will just be a blip in a season where they still have high expectations. They need everything they can get from their supporters inside the Etihad though, and they must offer a lot more if they are not to deprive themselves of a priceless advantage going forwards.