“I have warned Pep Guardiola about that particular player, he refused to bench him, He keeps causing problems to the team, He cost Manchester City three points and Pep played him full time: Former Man City Player and Argentina international Kun Aguero names ONE player who doesn’t deserve to start for Kan City, warned Guardiola about the unforgivable mistake

Manchester City’s remarkable sequence of 23 consecutive unbeaten matches at the Etihad Stadium in Champions League group stage competition was brought to a shuddering halt following a convincing 2-0 defeat at the hands of Bayer Leverkusen. The Citizens had been presented with a golden opportunity to virtually secure their passage to at least the play-off stages with a victory, yet they never came close to achieving that objective and were thoroughly outclassed as Pep Guardiola’s bold selection gambles spectacularly misfired.

The City manager elected to ring the changes in dramatic fashion, making ten alterations to the side that had suffered defeat against Newcastle United. This extensive rotation, which saw several fringe players thrust back into action after prolonged absences, resulted in a disjointed and awkward-looking team that appeared desperately short of sharpness and struggled mightily to fashion any clear-cut chances in the final third. At the opposite end of the pitch, the defensive structure was alarmingly porous, with the backline caught flat-footed as Alejandro Grimaldo swept home the opening goal.

In an attempt to salvage something from the encounter, Guardiola introduced a triple substitution at the interval, but rather than igniting a City revival, these changes merely emboldened Leverkusen, who proceeded to extend their lead through Patrik Schick. The subsequent introductions of Rayan Cherki and talismanic striker Erling Haaland from the bench failed to provide the necessary spark, as the hosts remained frustratingly unable to trouble the scorers. What follows are the individual performance ratings from the Manchester Evening News.

Trafford: Though neither goal could reasonably be attributed to errors on his part, this was far from a commanding display, and his uncertainty was plain to see throughout. 5

Khusanov: Showed glimpses of quality with some elegant touches and assured ball control, but his positioning was suspect for the opening goal, and he became the natural choice to be sacrificed when City desperately pushed forward in search of a route back into the contest. 5

Stones: Comfortably the pick of an otherwise struggling defensive unit, although he was never afforded the opportunity to venture forward and exert his influence on the match in more advanced areas. 6

Ake: Looked visibly short of match fitness and played a disappointing role in both goals City conceded, repeatedly failing to read the game and maintain his defensive position. 4

Ait-Nouri: Caught woefully out of position at the crucial moment for Leverkusen’s opener, and his evening was further undermined by an abundance of heavy first touches and misplaced passes. 4

Gonzalez: The only player to retain his place from the Newcastle fixture and will likely continue in the starting lineup for the Leeds encounter, having produced a reasonably assured performance with few notable mistakes. 6

Bobb: Burst out of the blocks with intent during the opening minutes, taking the game directly to Leverkusen, but then gradually disappeared from view and was nowhere to be seen after the half-time interval. 4

Lewis: Proved unable to stamp any authority on proceedings in the middle of the park, making poor decisions in crucial attacking moments while failing to provide adequate defensive cover for Gonzalez alongside him. 5

Reijnders: Came agonizingly close with another effort that really could, and perhaps should, have nestled in the back of the net, but otherwise failed to offer sufficient support to Gonzalez in the midfield battle. 5

Savinho: Completed the full ninety minutes on the pitch, although pinpointing any meaningful contributions to City’s cause proves remarkably difficult. 4

Marmoush: Displayed far greater conviction and passion in his attempts to rouse the home supporters than he managed to demonstrate in fulfilling his responsibilities as the attacking spearhead, where he was disappointingly ineffective. 4

Substitutes

O’Reilly (replaced Ait-Nouri at half-time) Provided enhanced defensive solidity and a noticeably improved work ethic. 6

Foden (replaced Lewis at half-time) Carved out one excellent through ball to release Haaland into a promising position. 6

Doku (replaced Savinho at half-time) Looked the most threatening of all the substitutes and appeared most likely to conjure something from nothing. 6

Cherki (replaced Khusanov on 65 minutes) Tested the goalkeeper with a well-struck free-kick that required a smart save. 6

Haaland (replaced Marmoush on 65 minutes) Spurned a promising opportunity when played through one-on-one with the goalkeeper. 5

Unused substitutes: Donnarumma, Bettinelli, Dias, Nunes, Gvardiol, Silva