Manchester City loses home game in the first round of the UCL after seven years; Marseille beat Newcastle United 2-1

Manchester City suffered a rare Champions League defeat at the Etihad Stadium on Tuesday, losing 0-2 to Bundesliga side Bayer Leverkusen and ending its 23-match unbeaten home run in the group or league stages of the competition.

The loss ruined Pep Guardiola’s 100th Champions League match as City manager and left the Premier League side provisionally sixth with 10 points after five games. Alejandro Grimaldo and Patrik Schick scored for Leverkusen, which is 13th.

Guardiola rested most of his regular starters for the first half, with ten changes to his team, and the risky move backfired.

LEVERKUSEN OPEN SCORING WITH COUNTERATTACK

Leverkusen struck in the 23rd minute on the counter-attack when Malik Tillman sent in a cross that Christian Kofane held up in the penalty area for Grimaldo to fire home.

Guardiola sent reinforcements to start the second half with Phil Foden, Jeremy Doku and Nico O’Reilly, but it did not stop the visiting side doubling their lead in the 54th minute with Schick’s glancing header over a lunging Nathan Ake and past the outstretched hands of goalkeeper James Trafford.

City’s scoring machine, Erling Haaland, entered the match in the 65th minute to a standing ovation.

Although he was in the thick of the action, there were no late-game heroics, with Mark Fleks making a brave stop after the big Norwegian’s best chance, a one-on-one with the ‘keeper after running onto Foden’s through ball.

FLEKKEN PRODUCES BRILLIANT SAVINGS

City were keen to make amends for Saturday’s 2-1 Premier League defeat to Newcastle United, but that was not to be, and Flokken was a big reason for that.

The Dutchman made brilliant saves to deny Aké and Tijjani Reijnders as City peppered the visitor’s goal with 20 attempts, including seven on target, to Leverkusen’s two.

“It’s an incredible feeling (to win at The Etihad) to be honest,” Leverkusen defender Jarell Quansah told TNT Sports. “We needed a lot of character and a lot of fight and perseverance.

“We know they have a lot of world-class quality, and even the players who started tonight know they are also world-class players playing for their country, so it was always going to be a tough ask if they came on. We defended a little deeper than I would have liked, but were happy with the win.”

Leverkusen boss Kasper Hjulmand called it an evening to remember.

“We are so happy with this win, but not just with the win, but with the character the team showed,” he said. «I have a lot of respect for the players, for the team that we are. We are building a team here and I think tonight is a night to remember, and it is fuel for our development.»

“Of course we had moments tonight where we needed a bit of luck and a very good goalkeeper.”

City had not lost at home in the Champions League group stage since the shock 2-1 defeat to Lyon in September 2018.

AUBAMEYANG BRACKET HELPS MARSEILLE DEFEAT NEWCASTLE

Newcastle United’s three-match winning streak in the Champions League was halted on Tuesday when they lost 1-2 at Olympique de Marseille after Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored twice for the home side.

Harvey Barnes gave the visiting side a dream start at the Stade Velodrome as he broke the deadlock from close range after five minutes with his fourth goal in his last three games in all competitions.

However, Aubameyang turned the score around, scoring two goals in four minutes shortly after the break to give the French side their second win of the season.

Newcastle, which is eighth with nine points, then travels to Bayer Leverkusen, while Marseille, nineteenth with six points, visits Union Saint-Gilloise.

Published on November 26, 2025