1 week ago
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Manchester City were beaten by Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League on Tuesday and Pep Guardiola has reflected on making 10 changes to that team.
Pep Guardiola criticised his Manchester City starters against Bayer Leverkusen for playing it safe, accusing them of lacking confidence in their own abilities. The City boss made 10 changes to the team that took on the Bundesliga outfit and saw his heavily rotated side produce a meek performance in losing 2-0 at the Etihad, leaving them outside the top eight in the Champions League table.
Guardiola has never previously rotated so heavily in the Champions League, especially when qualification isn't secured, and his approach backfired with the Blues outplayed by Leverkusen. The Catalan suggested he had been too nice in giving players an opportunity, but also turned the focus onto their performance and suggested he had more faith in his squad than they had themselves.
Guardiola made three changes at half-time on Tuesday night and two more on 65 minutes, but he was unable to rescue the game. None of those who came into the team did their cause much favour and the way Guardiola spoke about that display ahead of Saturday's Premier League fixture with Leeds suggested none of them were likely to retain their place.
"We know the competitions are tough. It is not about one result, it is in the performance," Guardiola said. "Of course, results help performances but I'm not very disappointed about Newcastle. The last one, yeah, because of my decisions and because we didn't try, it's as simple as that.
"We didn't try and in football when you play on the green you have to try things and we didn't try. Maybe I have a theory to rotate because it's impossible to sustain but I had a lot of confidence in them and I still do. I have a huge value as what they are as football players.
"Maybe I think higher of them than they think about themselves. It was a good lesson for me, as experienced as I am as a manager it was a good lesson for me for the future."
Nico Gonzalez was the only player to start against Bayer Leverkusen who also started against Newcastle, and the Spaniard will keep his place against Leeds with Rodri still on the treatment table with a hamstring issue.
The other 10 who came into the side are likely to find themselves back on the fringes after playing with the handbrake on in midweek. Guardiola said they would come back into this thinking, but revealed he wouldn't be making wholesale changes again anytime soon.
"I'm pretty sure that they, surrounded by other players, will play good," he added. "I think they played not to make mistakes, not to play to do something. That is so difficult.
"In football, you have to play defensive and offensive and you have to try. They played to be safe, to not make mistakes and that's why it's so difficult.”
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