Manchester City traveled to Germany today, where the first match of the knockout phase of the Champions League awaits them tomorrow against Leipzig, and Pep Guardiola seems to be in big trouble.Misfortune never comes alone… Just as the Citizens drew level with Arsenal to take first place on goal difference, the bad news began to pour in. They took the lead against Nottingham Forest at the City Ground, but did not keep it. And on top of all that, the English champion was overtaken by injuries.In the last training session before the duel with Leipzig in the Champions League, Pep Guardiola could not count on several important players. John Stones was already injured, and the Englishman was joined in the infirmary by Kevin de Bruyne and Aymeric Laporte.##NAJAVA_MECA_7041308##The Spanish strategist tinkered during the day and the mentioned players fell off the passenger list, even though they were “seen” on it. Pep Guardiola is not one to play with fire, especially not in a situation where, unlike some previous seasons, he does not have a huge lead in the Champions League.It is increasingly certain that he will leave the trio in England, so that the defenders and Kevin de Bruyne can work on their recovery. That everything is leading to that was also seen in training, because Pep invited the boys from the academy – Nico O’Reilly, Shay Charles and Finley Burns – to train with the first team.Kevin De Bruyne, Aymeric Laporte and John Stones and have been left off Man City’s UCL squad vs. RB Leipzig 😳 pic.twitter.com/60IjAsg6kH— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) February 21, 2023 Maximo Perrone, who arrived at the Etihad last winter from Velez in a transfer worth 11,000,000 euros, was also at the training. The midfielder, who in Argentina is compared to Enzo Fernandez, traveled with the team to Nottingham at the weekend, but was not included in the protocol. It could be one of Pep Guardiola’s changes.Consultations with the medical staff on making a final decision regarding the departure of the injured players to Germany ended with them staying in City’s training center.
