Manchester City dominated possession, created more attacks and fired more shots, but none of it mattered. Bayer Leverkusen walked into the Etihad, absorbed pressure, and struck twice with clinical precision to leave with a memorable 2-0 Champions League victory on Tuesday night.
Alejandro Grimaldo put Leverkusen ahead in the first half before Patrik Schick doubled the lead after the break, securing all three points with two brilliantly taken goals.
With a congested schedule in mind, Pep Guardiola opted to rest goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma, Erling Haaland, Phil Foden and Jérémy Doku. All three attackers were introduced in the second half, but none could reverse City’s fate.
City were sluggish in the opening half, lacking the pace and sharpness needed to break down Leverkusen’s disciplined defence. Though the tempo rose after the interval, and the hosts grew more threatening, the Bundesliga side adapted with the momentum.
City had their first big chance in the fifth minute when Nathan Aké met an Oscar Bobb cutback inside the box, but the effort was brilliantly pushed away for a corner by the Leverkusen goalkeeper.
Leverkusen, however, were ruthless when their moment arrived. In the 23rd minute, Malik Tillman whipped in a cross on the counter. Christian Kofane’s flick wasn’t cleared by City’s defence, allowing Grimaldo to rush in and smash a left-footed strike into the net, leaving the City goalkeeper helpless.
Just before halftime, Tijjani Reijnders wasted a golden opportunity to equalise, hitting a close-range effort straight at the keeper.
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Guardiola made three changes at halftime, but Leverkusen struck again instead. In the 54th minute, Ibrahim Maza delivered a superb cross that Schick headed in, outmuscling Aké to guide the ball home and make it 2-0.
City pushed harder after Guardiola introduced Rayan Cherki and Haaland in the 65th minute. Chances followed, but Leverkusen’s defensive wall refused to break. In the 85th minute, Cherki’s curling free kick was acrobatically stopped by the Leverkusen goalkeeper, ending City’s visibly last hope.
City tasted first Champions League defeat with the referee blew the match-ending whistle. With the result, Pep’s team sit sixth with 10 points from five matches. Leverkusen climb to 13th with eight points.
Bayern Munich, Arsenal and Inter Milan continue to occupy the top three spots with 12 points each from four games, with Arsenal and Bayern set to face off at the Emirates Stadium on Wednesday.