Manchester City vs Dortmund Review
Manchester City achieved their sixth victory in seven recent competitive matches by defeating Dortmund 4-1 in the UEFA Champions League, extending their unbeaten streak against German teams to nine games. Early on, City caught Dortmund on the counterattack, forcing goalkeeper Gregor Kobel into action when Phil Foden fired a 25-yard shot that he managed to parry, with Savinho then missing the rebound. Ten minutes later, Foden tried another long-range shot, this time successfully, as he was set up by Tijjani Reijnders in a dangerous position and confidently placed the ball into the bottom corner.
It wouldn’t be a City match these days without Erling Haaland scoring, and true to form, he netted just before the 30-minute mark. Jérémy Doku set it up by redirecting Savinho’s initial cross to find the unmarked Haaland, who nearly ripped the net from 10 yards out. Dortmund’s attacks were scarce in the first half, but they did manage to challenge Gianluigi Donnarumma before halftime when Karim Adeyemi cut in from the right, forcing the Italian goalkeeper into his first save of the night.
Foden then lit up the Etihad Stadium, scoring his second goal of the match in almost the same way as the first, curling a shot from 20 yards into the bottom left corner. City dominated Dortmund at times in the second half and nearly scored a fourth shortly after when Foden delivered a cross to the far post, but Savinho volleyed it over the bar. Dortmund managed to make the match more exciting towards the end when a quick free-kick led to Julian Ryerson setting up Waldemar Anton, who finished at the near post.
A last-ditch block by John Stones prevented Adeyemi from bringing Dortmund within one goal of City as the home team began to show signs of nervousness. Pep Guardiola made substitutions to help secure the win, and one of his substitutes, Rayan Cherki, scored a fourth goal in stoppage time, sealing a victory that extended their unbeaten streak in UCL home group stage matches to 23 games.
