GRIM NIGHT

Alejandro and Schick sink Pep to leave him embarrassed again

- BY JEREMY CROSS

PEP GUARDIOLA swapped feelings of shame and embarrassment for utter humiliation at the Etihad.

On a humbling night to forget for Guardiola, Manchester City crashed to their first Champions League home defeat in the group stages since 2018.

And Guardiola only had himself to blame.

Having taken the bizarre decision to name a second-string side, he was rewarded with a second-rate performance.

Goals in each half from Alejandro Grimaldo and Patrik Schick were more than enough to give Bayer Leverkusen a shock, but deserved, win to ruin Guardiolas 100th Champions League game as City boss.

Not to mention pile more pain on the Spaniard, who called himself out for behaving like an idiot towards a camera operator in the wake of his side's defeat at Newcastle on Saturday.

Leverkusen had arrived in Manchester third in the Bundesliga.

But the omens still felt against them.

City had won all of their last 13 home games against German opposition in the Champions League.