City Stunned at Home as Leverkusen Deliver a Clinical Blow
So, let me walk you through what happened in this surprising Champions League clash between Manchester City and Bayer Leverkusen — a night that absolutely didn’t go the way most people expected.
The match unfolded at the Etihad, where Pep Guardiola, marking his 100th Champions League game in charge of City, made a bold decision: ten changes to the starting lineup. It was meant to reset the rhythm after their defeat to Newcastle, but instead, it ended up setting the tone for a difficult night. City actually started brightly — Nathan Aké almost gave them an early lead, but his effort was instinctively pushed away by Mark Flekken, who would go on to have a standout performance.
After that moment, the tempo from City dipped. Their possession became slow, almost predictable, which opened the door for Leverkusen’s counter-attacking approach. And that’s exactly where the breakthrough arrived. Christian Kofane, quick on the break, clipped a neat pass back into the box, and Alejandro Grimaldo — their captain — drilled in a crisp first-time finish. It was his eighth goal of the season, and it completely shifted the energy of the match.
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City’s heavily rotated side struggled to find any sort of rhythm. Tijjani Reijnders had a driving run but his shot went straight at Flekken, who was never really troubled by City’s attempts. Meanwhile, Leverkusen grew in confidence. Their second goal came early in the second half, when Ibrahim Maza delivered a perfect cross and Patrik Schick rose above everyone to glance in a clean header. Suddenly, City were 2-0 down at home, and the atmosphere became noticeably tense.
Guardiola reacted by bringing on the big names — Haaland, Foden, Doku, Cherki. The shift in quality was immediate, and Haaland nearly clawed one back when Foden slipped him through, but once again Flekken timed his intervention perfectly. Even with the pressure mounting, City kept missing that final moment of clarity. Haaland sent another chance over the bar, summarizing the kind of night it had become for the reigning champions.
On the other side, Leverkusen’s story was remarkable. After a chaotic start to their season — losing Xabi Alonso, selling key players, firing Erik ten Hag after just two league games — new manager Kasper Hjulmand has steadied the ship impressively. And this performance, built on discipline, efficiency, and a fearless mindset, showed exactly that. They scored with both shots on target and defended like their lives depended on it.
By the final whistle, the Etihad crowd was left stunned. City’s 13-match home winning streak against German teams in the Champions League was snapped, and the loss dropped them to sixth in the league-phase table, making qualification suddenly more complicated.
Leverkusen, though? They walked away with a perfectly executed victory — and a night their travelling fans won’t forget anytime soon.
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