However, his tweaks didn’t work out, as the Bundesliga side secured a shock win. Against Leverkusen, he also made three changes at half-time and two more after 65 minutes, but nothing worked in his favour.

Speaking after the match, the Spaniard said, “We know the competitions are tough. It is not about one result, it is in the performance. Of course, results help performances but I’m not very disappointed about Newcastle. The last one, yeah, because of my decisions and because we didn’t try, it’s as simple as that.”

“We didn’t try and in football when you play on the green you have to try things and we didn’t try. Maybe I have a theory to rotate because it’s impossible to sustain but I had a lot of confidence in them and I still do. I have a huge value as what they are as football players.

“Maybe I think higher of them than they think about themselves. It was a good lesson for me, as experienced as I am as a manager it was a good lesson for me for the future,” he added.

City face Leeds United in their upcoming Premier League fixture on Saturday and are still without Rodri. The Spain international is key to Guardiola’s midfield setup and has missed eight of City’s last nine games due to a hamstring injury.

Leeds are also in poor form, having lost five fixtures in their last six matches. Despite their form, Guardiola praised Leeds manager Daniel Farke. “I have an incredible opinion on Daniel. I have a really good relationship with him and I know the Premier League is always like this – you can make a good run of results or a bad run and continue because opponents are tough,” he said.