Manchester City’s winless run after the international break extended to two games, following a disappointing 2-0 home defeat to Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League.
It was a night where Pep Guardiola made ten changes, with Nico Gonzalez the only player to keep his place in the side. However, it was not a decision that paid off.
It was a fairly equal first half, with City failing to exert any sort of dominance on the German side, which you might expect from them at the Etihad Stadium. They only managed five shots in that first 45 minutes.
Alejandro Grimaldo opened the scoring for the visitors in the 23rd minute, striding into the box unmarked and sweetly striking a left-footed volley into the bottom right corner.
It was a superb finish, but poor defending from Guardiola’s side to allow him that much space.
In the second half, the City manager turned to the bench, calling upon the likes of Erling Haaland, Phil Foden and Rayan Cherki to get his side back into the game. Yet, a header from Patrick Schick in the 54th minute doubled Leverkusen’s lead and was enough to seal the win.
It was a poor performance from City, with some players failing to take their chances.
City's worst performers vs. Leverkusen
On a night where Guardiola rotated his side, it could have been the moment for some players to stake a claim for a more regular starting spot. Well, one of the players who struggled was defender Nathan Ake.
The Dutchman has become a squad player under the former Barcelona manager in recent times, and did not exactly cover himself in glory on Tuesday night.
There is a case to be made that he was at fault for Schick’s goal, allowing the Czech Republic striker to get in front of him in the penalty box and head home. It was poor defending from the experienced Ake.
Another player who underwhelmed was Omar Marmoush. The Egyptian attacker is Haaland’s understudy at the Etihad Stadium, so it will always be hard for him to get regular minutes as a number nine.
Against Leverkusen, he was completely isolated and struggled to get involved in the game, being replaced by the Norwegian in the 65th minute.
Marmoush managed just 18 touches of the ball, didn’t manage a shot and could only win two out of five duels.
As poor as Ake and Marmoush were, two City players were arguably worse.
Man City's 4/10 duo must never start together again
Marmoush and Ake were disappointing, but two players who really played poorly were Savinho and Oscar Bobb. They were City’s two wingers against Leverkusen, but City Chief, a page over on X, said they “offer nothing” when playing out on the flanks.
Indeed, it was a night to forget for both of the wide men.
They didn’t cause Leverkusen many major problems, having a combined 12 touches in their box, creating two chances between them and losing the ball 34 times altogether.
Touches in opposition box
10
2
Chances created
0
2
Passes into final third
1
0
Ground duels won
5/12
3/4
Number of times ball lost
25
9
One person who noticed how lacklustre the wingers performed was Manchester Evening News reporter Simon Bajkowski. He gave them both a 4/10 rating, explaining that Bobb ‘went missing’ after the opening minutes and Savinho had no ‘meaningful contributions’.
With Jeremy Doku and Cherki tending to be Guardiola’s first-choice wingers this term, it is hard to see how the pairing that started against the German side will get into the team together again.
Individually, the quality is there, but as a duo, they lack the potency and perhaps confidence to pose a real threat to a full-back. It was certainly a passive showing against Leverkusen, especially with City losing for most of the game.
It is hard to see how Guardiola doesn’t switch back to his first-choice wide pairing, after such a disappointing performance from Bobb and Savinho.
They would fit well with more direct wingers on the other flank, but as a duo, are perhaps too similar and not urgent enough in one-vs-ones to cause frequent problems.
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