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Pep Guardiola criticised his Manchester City starters against Bayer Leverkusen for playing it safe, accusing them of lacking confidence in their own abilities. The City boss made 10 changes to the team that took on the Bundesliga outfit and saw his heavily rotated side produce a meek performance in losing 2-0 at the Etihad, leaving them outside the top eight in the Champions League table.

Guardiola has never previously rotated so heavily in the Champions League, especially when qualification isn't secured, and his approach backfired with the Blues outplayed by Leverkusen. The Catalan suggested he had been too nice in giving players an opportunity, but also turned the focus onto their performance and suggested he had more faith in his squad than they had themselves.

Guardiol

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