MANCHESTER, England (AP) — Pep Guardiola has never coached a European competition game below the Champions League level and on Tuesday leads Manchester City in it for the 100th time.
City hosts Bayer Leverkusen looking for a 14th straight win against German teams at home to extend a run that started before Guardiola’s arrival in 2016.
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Guardiola has now doubled his tally of 50 Champions League games coaching Barcelona where he won two titles in four seasons. At Bayern Munich he coached 36 Champions League games in three seasons that all ended in the semifinals. City in the Guardiola era won one title and lost the 2021 final to Chelsea.
Also Tuesday, Barcelona returns to Chelsea where it famously — and notoriously for home fans — advanced to the final in 2009 in Guardiola’s debut season.
Stamford Bridge will stage the No. 12 team in the 36-team standings against No. 11 with both Chelsea and Barcelona heading toward the qualifying playoffs at the midway point in the eight-round league phase.
It’s No. 36 vs. No. 35 in the early kickoffs Tuesday, when Ajax hosts Benfica and at least one of the former European champions finally will earn a point at the fifth attempt.
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Galatasaray, without injured Nigeria striker Victor Osimhen who is currently the Champions League top scorer, hosts Union Saint-Gilloise in the other early game.
Juventus travels into the Arctic Circle to face Bodø/Glimt where the temperature is forecast to stay just above freezing.
Also, it’s Borussia Dortmund-Villarreal, Marseille-Newcastle United, Napoli-Qarabag and Slavia Prague-Athletic Bilbao.
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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
