Sports
Lacklustre Manchester City fall behind to Grimaldo goal at the Etihad
City are looking to maintain their unbeaten start in the Champions League this season
Manchester City fell behind to Bayer Leverkusen courtesy of an Alejandro Grimaldo goal mid-way through what was a largely lacklustre half from the hosts at the Etihad.
Boss Pep Guardiola made 10 changes to the City side that lost to Newcastle in the Premier League on Saturday, with Nico Gonzalez the only player to keep his place.
It initially appeared to be an inspired shake-up, with Guardiola’s men dominating possession from the off, restricting Leverkusen to scraps.
But if Guardiola cut an angry figure at St James’ Park three days ago, he was again left frustrated by his team’s lack of penetration in the final third.
With top scorer Erling Haaland looking on from the bench, the lack of attacking creativity would prove costly. In the 23rd minute, Leverkusen captain Grimaldo fired the visitors in front with a fine finish after a slick counter attack down City’s left.
The response from the 2023 Champions League winners was tepid. That was until a few minutes before the break when former Brentford goalkeeper Mark Flekken was called into action to deny Oscar Bobb and Tijjani Reijnders.
How to watch Man City v Leverkusen: Live online stream, TV channel
Kick-off on Tuesday is at 20:00 GMT (15:00 ET / 12:00 PT), with live coverage in the UK on TNT Sports 1 and TNT Sports Ultimate.
TNT Sports costs £29.99 a month through discovery+, which includes Eurosport and entertainment and is available on a vast range of devices including smart TVs and gaming consoles.
Manchester City v Bayer Leverkusen stats
- These teams have never met before, although City have won 19 and lost one of their last 24 meetings with German teams, while Leverkusen lost eight and won one of their previous 12 away against English clubs
- The English side are unbeaten in their last 23 group stage and league phase home matches, winning 20 of those
- City need three goals to reach 300 in the Champions League proper
- Haaland has 10 goals in his last nine encounters with German sides and previously scored in six straight games in the competition proper for Borussia Dortmund between October 10 2020 and March 9 2021
- Guardiola will take charge of his 100th game in the competition as City manager
- Leverkusen have lost three of their last 20 European group stage and league phase matches, winning 12 of those
- They are seeking their 50th win in the competition
- Midfielder Claudio Echeverri has played in all of Leverkusen’s Champions League games since joining on a season-long loan from City in August and is targeting his first goal for them in the competition
- Four of Leverkusen’s five points in this season’s league phase have come away from home, including equalisers in the 82nd and 91st minutes to draw 2-2 at Copenhagen on Matchday 1
- None of Leverkusen’s last 27 European matches have finished 0-0
