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- Jude Bellingham put Dortmund 1-0 up with a well-taken header in the second half
- On the 80-minute mark, John Stones levelled the scores with a long-range blast
- Four minutes later, Erling Haaland completed the turnaround with a beautiful volley
What a finish. Not just the two late goals in four minutes that Manchester City scored to over-turn this Champions League tie when it appeared to be beyond them but also the balletic but brutal beauty of the extraordinary strike that won it.
Of course it came from Erling Haaland who had been shackled, so effectively, by his former club until Joao Cancelo crossed with the outside of his right-boot and Haaland rose in almost a martial arts move, a mixture of elegance and unstoppable power, to volley into the net.
The striker was maybe eight foot in the air and it was a goal reminiscent of prime Zlatan Ibrahimovic, a player Haaland has drawn inspiration from, and he certainly has that swagger. For Pep Guardiola it was a goal more akin, though, to his hero and mentor Johan Cruyff and there can be no higher praise than that. It was all the more stunning because of Haaland’s size.
In the executive boxes Haaland’s father, Alfe Inge, was high-fiving those around them and it is a sight that has become so familiar already this season and will no doubt be repeated time again. It is now 13 goals in eight games for the Norwegian and although he did not celebrate against the club he left in the summer to join City it actually made the moment even more imperious. It looked like there was a ‘what’s the fuss’ kind of nonchalance.
Defeat was tough on Borussia Dortmund but they know the script when Haaland is around. After all they have so often benefitted from it themselves. And yet they will wonder how they lost with goalkeeper Alexander Meyer making a mess of John Stones’s shot from 22 yards to gift City their equaliser with their first effort on target. That was in the 80th minute and, surely, never before has a Guardiola side had to wait that long?
The City manager was certainly agitated and was booked at the final whistle for his protests. Goodness knows how he would have reacted had City lost, as they were set to before those dramatic late goals, with Jude Bellingham almost stealing the show with another extraordinary performance.
If Haaland’s goal, his 26th in just 21 Champions League games, was peak Ibrahimovic then Bellingham’s was classic Bryan Robson as the England midfielder, still just 19, stole into the penalty area in anticipation to beat Ederson with a brave header.
In fact Haaland masked a multitude of concerns for City who were strangely slow and sluggish with Jack Grealish looking a shadow of himself and certainly nothing like a £100million signing (it was Bellingham who looked like one while Haaland is almost priceless) before he was inevitably substituted.
It was not until a trio of attacking replacements – Phil Foden (in particular), Bernardo Silva and Julian Alvarez – came on that City showed any real signs of life and impetus after a shockingly poor first-half which was only enlivened by the relentlessness of the Dortmund fans. Guardiola admitted his side were in the “wrong gear”.
It was summed up by Grealish’s uncertainty. Three times he cut inside, three times he delayed and three times his shot was charged down. There was no confidence. When Guardiola made his three changes, just after Dortmund scored, Grealish also looked up three times because he knew he had to go off. And so it was the third time the board was raised that his number was shown.
Dortmund, superbly organised defensively, had served warning when Bellingham broke before finding Salih Ozcan who picked out Marco Reus’s run. The forward cut back and shot narrowly across goal. Guardiola was alarmed and readied his changes but before they could be made a corner was only partially cleared with Reus half-volleying it back across goal. Bellingham was quick to react, between Haaland and another former Dortmund team-mate Manuel Akanji, and steered his header home for his fourth Champions League goal, the most ever by an English teenager.
But he shone throughout. In 30 first-half seconds Bellingham intervened to break up a City attack inside his own penalty area and then popped up in City’s box before being dispossessed as he threatened to shoot.
Once behind, City’s changes kicked in. They were far more threatening with Kevin De Bruyne finally connecting with Haaland who struck the outside of the post from a tight angle while the runs in behind from Foden and Silva were stretching Dortmund.
Still there appeared little danger when the ball was played back by De Bruyne to Stones, working as a makeshift right-back, but he had time and space to shoot. His effort was powerful but it did not swerve and Meyer seemed strangely caught out as the ball flew past him.
As so often in the past, City scored in bunches and one goal became two when, soon after, Cancelo was also afforded time and Haaland led with his left foot above his head – when it appeared easier to connect with his right – as he completed the comeback and City suddenly took control of the group. After that Haaland was taken off, to a standing ovation. Like his goals it is also becoming a regular sight.
Manchester City vs Borussia Dortmund, as it happened:
10:08 PM
That’s all for our live coverage
… but we’ve got a full match report, stats and analysis to follow, so stick around.
09:57 PM
Full time, Manchester City 2-1 Borussia Dortmund
It’s another punchy comeback win for City, sealed by Haaland’s 13th goal of the season.
Dortmund had the game just where they wanted it with 80 minutes on the clock but, within the space of four minutes, they went from 1-0 up to 2-1 down. City weren’t at their best for much of the match, but have an uncanny knack of turning defeat into victory.
09:52 PM
90+4 mins, Manchester City 2-1 Borussia Dortmund
Foden flies into a tackle and is cautioned, with Meunier also booked for his reaction.
09:51 PM
90+3 mins, Manchester City 2-1 Borussia Dortmund
Malen very nearly tears up the script, sending a shot whistling inches wide of the near post.
09:50 PM
90+2 mins, Manchester City 2-1 Borussia Dortmund
Haaland’s night is done, with Kalvin Phillips coming on in his place.
09:50 PM
89 mins, Manchester City 2-1 Borussia Dortmund
Alvarez forces a desperate save from Meyer, who just about keeps Dortmund within touching distance.
09:47 PM
Double change for Dortmund
… with Ozcan and Reus coming off for Youssoufa Moukoko and Karim Adeyemi.
09:46 PM
87 mins, Manchester City 2-1 Borussia Dortmund
Ozcan is booked for a foul on De Bruyne.
09:45 PM
85 mins, Manchester City 2-1 Borussia Dortmund
Dortmund have a chance of their own, but will wish Haaland had been there to finish it.
Reus crosses to Meunier at the far post, but he is unable to turn the ball home.
09:44 PM
GOAL! Manchester City 2-1 Borussia Dortmund
Well, this is quite the turnaround.
Cancelo plays a ludicrous ball with the outside of his boot which falls perfectly for Haaland, who scores a beauty on the volley.
09:39 PM
GOAL! Manchester City 1-1 Borussia Dortmund
What a way to equalise.
Out of nowhere, Stones hits an absolute rocket from distance which swerves in mid-air and flies into the top corner. Meyer is wrongfooted and can only watch helplessly as the ball thunders into the back of the net.
09:37 PM
78 mins, Manchester City 0-1 Borussia Dortmund
Malen is booked after committing a foul out wide and then holding onto the ball in an effort to waste as much time as possible.
09:36 PM
Defensive switch for Dortmund
Modeste is replaced by Nico Schlotterbeck, giving Dortmund the benefit of an extra centre-back.
09:34 PM
75 mins, Manchester City 0-1 Borussia Dortmund
Dortmund have, understandably, switched to spoiling tactics, doing their best to slow down the game just as City try to speed things up.
09:30 PM
71 mins, Manchester City 0-1 Borussia Dortmund
Fantastic defending.
Foden gets past Bellingham on the left and whips the ball across the face of goal. It looks like an easy finish for Haaland, but Hummels denies him a tap-in with a crucial intervention.
09:28 PM
69 mins, Manchester City 0-1 Borussia Dortmund
De Bruyne narrowly fails to latch onto a menacing ball to the far post. As is to be expected, City have upped the tempo.
09:27 PM
68 mins, Manchester City 0-1 Borussia Dortmund
Haaland almost gets onto another dangerous ball into the box, but Sule stretches and flicks it away.
09:25 PM
65 mins, Manchester City 0-1 Borussia Dortmund
Haaland hits the post!
De Bruyne lofts a trademark ball over the defence and Haaland gets on the end of it. With the angle rapidly narrowing, he unleashes a shot which cannons back off the upright.
09:24 PM
64 mins, Manchester City 0-1 Borussia Dortmund
Modeste finds a pocket of space on the right and gets a speculative ball into the box.
Ederson gets in a muddle and is almost outfoxed by Reus but, much to his relief, the Dortmund man fails to capitalise.
09:20 PM
First change for Dortmund
… with Donyell Malen coming on for Reyna.
09:20 PM
60 mins, Manchester City 0-1 Borussia Dortmund
Stones makes an overlapping run out on the right and gets into the box, but Ozcan gets in the way and, after a brief tussle, the ball trickles out for a goal kick.
09:16 PM
Triple substitution for City
… with Mahrez, Gundogan and Grealish coming off for Julian Alvarez, Bernardo Silva and Phil Foden respectively.
09:15 PM
GOAL! Manchester City 0-1 Borussia Dortmund
And, just like that, Dortmund are ahead.
The visitors win a corner, which is cleared as far as Reus on the edge of the area. He clips a ball over the top which is met by the onrushing Bellingham, who heads past Ederson and into the back of the net.
09:12 PM
52 mins, Manchester City 0-0 Borussia Dortmund
Rodri picks up the first booking of the game after a foul on Bellingham.
09:10 PM
51 mins, Manchester City 0-0 Borussia Dortmund
So close!
Dortmund roar forwards on the counter and, after dancing past Akanji, Reus gets a sight of goal from a tight angle. He tries to dink the ball into the far corner, but it drops just wide of the post.
09:07 PM
48 mins, Manchester City 0-0 Borussia Dortmund
De Bruyne gets in behind Dortmund’s defence on the right and crosses to the feet of Haaland, but Meyer reads it and snuffs out the danger.
09:03 PM
Second half kicks off
We’re back underway at the Etihad.
08:51 PM
Half-time, Manchester City 0-0 Borussia Dortmund
That was a surprisingly muted half of football, all told.
Dortmund will be the happier side at the break, having succeeded in muzzling City’s attack. Haaland has largely been marked out of the game so far, leaving Guardiola with a conundrum to solve.
08:48 PM
43 mins, Manchester City 0-0 Borussia Dortmund
Sule goes on a risky run, driving forwards from out of the back line, but is ushered out wide and loses the ball.
08:41 PM
40 mins, Manchester City 0-0 Borussia Dortmund
It’s all a bit scrappy now, with both sides getting balls into the box but neither able to carve out a clear chance.
08:38 PM
36 mins, Manchester City 0-0 Borussia Dortmund
Danger for Dortmund!
De Bruyne works half a yard of space on the left and crosses to Haaland, but the ball is just behind him and he can’t control it. Reus hoofs it away.
08:37 PM
35 mins, Manchester City 0-0 Borussia Dortmund
Dortmund break forwards and end up with a three-against-two, but Modeste fails to pick out Ozcan and the move breaks down.
08:33 PM
32 mins, Manchester City 0-0 Borussia Dortmund
Thomas Meunier gets past Cancelo out wide and pings a dangerous cutback across the face of goal, but nobody gets on the end of it.
08:32 PM
31 mins, Manchester City 0-0 Borussia Dortmund
Dortmund win a corner and Reyna steps up to take it.
He tries to find Hummels at the back post but overcooks his delivery, sending the ball looping out of play.
08:31 PM
29 mins, Manchester City 0-0 Borussia Dortmund
Reyna wins a free kick under pressure from Cancelo in City’s final third.
Reus whips in a searching delivery, but Akanji thumps it clear. He’s been dominant in the air so far.
08:27 PM
25 mins, Manchester City 0-0 Borussia Dortmund
Jack Grealish plays a sideways pass to Cancelo on the underlap and, in what feels like a show of frustration, he has a crack from distance which sails over the crossbar.
08:23 PM
22 mins, Manchester City 0-0 Borussia Dortmund
Raphael Guerreiro looks to play in Bellingham with a long ball over the top, but Ake defends it well.
City counter-attack and win a corner. De Bruyne’s delivery is punched away by Meyer.
08:21 PM
19 mins, Manchester City 0-0 Borussia Dortmund
Kevin De Bruyne makes inroads into the area, but Hummels shows excellent defensive nous to get his body in the way of the ball and shepherd it out of play.
08:18 PM
15 mins, Manchester City 0-0 Borussia Dortmund
Haaland almost gets his head on the ball in the box, but Niklas Sule does well to get it away.
Moments later Dortmund have their first chance of the match, Salih Ozcan cutting inside and unleashing a curling shot which is just a little too close to Ederson.
08:16 PM
11 mins, Manchester City 0-0 Borussia Dortmund
After another prolonged spell of possession for the hosts, Joao Cancelo bursts through the massed yellow shirts with a galloping run off the left flank but, having taken the ball to the byline, he overdoes it and Dortmund end up with a goal kick.
08:10 PM
7 mins, Manchester City 0-0 Borussia Dortmund
Dortmund put together a couple of nice passing moves, but lack a killer final ball.
Reus changes tack and tries to pick out Anthony Modeste with a scooped cross into the box, but Manuel Akanji heads it clear.
08:05 PM
3 mins, Manchester City 0-0 Borussia Dortmund
After a spell of almost unbroken possession for City, Gundogan lifts a cross-field ball to Mahrez in space on the right flank.
He cuts inside and gets a low ball into the area, but it runs through to Dortmund goalkeeper Alex Meyer.
08:00 PM
Kick off!
We’re underway in Manchester.
07:55 PM
Five-minute warning
The players are just starting to meander out into the tunnel with kick off fast approaching.
07:47 PM
Haaland all smiles
The big lad looks menacingly relaxed ahead of kick off.
07:33 PM
Warm-ups commence
… with Ederson jogging out to face a flurry of practice shots.
07:29 PM
Milestone for Guardiola
… who is about to preside over his 150th Champions League game as a manager.
07:23 PM
Terzic resists calls for big shake-up
Despite his side’s disappointing 3-0 defeat to RB Leipzig on Saturday, Terzic has only made three changes to his starting line-up.
Wingers Julian Brandt and Marius Wolf have been replaced by Gio Reyna and Emre Can, the latter allowing Dortmund to adopt a more defensive stance (with Marco Reus moving out wide). In defence, Nico Schlotterbeck cedes his starting spot to Mats Hummels. Malen and Adeyemi are fit enough to make the bench.
07:10 PM
Four changes for City
Guardiola has made four changes to the side which beat Sevilla last week, bringing in John Stones, Nathan Ake, Gundogan and Riyad Mahrez for Sergio Gomez, Ruben Diaz, Bernardo Silva and Foden.
07:03 PM
Borussia Dortmund team news
Starting XI: Meyer; Guerreiro, Hummels, Sule, Meunier; Bellingham, Can, Ozcan; Reyna, Modeste, Reus.
06:54 PM
Manchester City team news
Starting XI: Ederson; Stones, Akanji, Ake, Cancelo; Rodri, De Bruyne, Gundogan; Mahrez, Haaland, Grealish.
06:30 PM
Dortmund looking to hurt City on the flanks
Terzic has also given some insight into Dortmund’s game plan, admitting that dynamic wide play will be crucial to their success (or failure) this evening.
“Speed is always important in modern football,” he said, when asked about his side’s threat out wide. “We want to filter out the things we absolutely need to avoid, the no-goes, and focus on the strengths we need to show and the things we need to do in order to hurt them, which they won’t want.”
06:00 PM
Adeyemi and Malen could return for Dortmund
Karim Adeyemi and Donyell Malen, Dortmund’s wide men, have been nursing foot and muscle injuries respectively, but Terzic has suggested they could still be involved at the Etihad.
“We hope they will give us the thumbs-up and be ready to play,” he said. Dortmund will be without Jamie Bynoe-Gittens, Mahmoud Dahoud, Gregor Kobel, Mateu Morey and Sebastien Haller, however, with the latter still receiving treatment for testicular cancer.
05:45 PM
Terzic ‘looking forward’ to seeing Haaland
While there are obvious reasons for Dortmund to feel apprehensive about being reunited with Haaland tonight, Terzic has insisted that it will be a pleasure.
“We’re looking forward to seeing him again,” he said. “And we’re hoping he doesn’t score. We’ll certainly do everything we can to stop him.”
05:30 PM
City among favourites to win Champions League, says Terzic
Edin Terzic, Dortmund’s head coach, has talked up City’s chances of European success this season. “Erling has made Manchester City even more dangerous and even stronger,” he said earlier this week.
“[They are] among the top favourites in the Champions League. They consistently pick up 90 points in the strongest league in the world.”
05:20 PM
Guardiola intent on challenging Haaland
Asked about Haaland’s frankly terrifying form ahead of the game, Guardiola has managed to stay remarkably level-headed.
“He’s young and hungry, individually he can improve,” he said. “He can be better, that’s for sure. The connection with his team-mates and timing will make him a better player.”
05:10 PM
Fine margins
City and Dortmund last met two seasons ago in the Champions League quarter-finals, with Pep Guardiola’s side progressing 4-2 on aggregate.
Both games were close-run things, however, with a late goal from Phil Foden deciding the first leg and an early strike from Jude Bellingham giving City a scare in the second.
05:01 PM
Can Dortmund contain Haaland?
By James Ducker
Ilkay Gundogan believes Erling Haaland poses such a threat that Manchester City will have to grow accustomed to more teams than ever parking the bus against them as opponents seek to smother the prolific Norway striker.
Haaland is set to face former club Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League tonight for the first time since leaving the Bundesliga for the Premier League this summer.
City started their latest bid for European glory in emphatic fashion last week with a resounding 4-0 win over Sevilla in Spain, with Haaland scoring twice to take his tally to 12 in just seven competitive games this season.
The Premier League champions are no strangers to facing sides who employ low blocks against them but Gundogan has warned it could become the norm, both domestically and in Europe, as teams attempt to limit the space in behind for Haaland to attack.
“Maybe the games at Dortmund were a little bit more open than we have been used to here,” said the City captain, one of four former Dortmund players in the club’s ranks along with Haaland and defenders Manuel Akanji and Sergio Gomez. “That’s not always the case here and each team is defensively strong.
“Maybe that is something [Haaland] will have to adapt to and he has already shown he can do that – Nottingham Forest sat deep and he scored a hat-trick [in a 6-0 win].
“We know we have someone who can make those kind of runs [in behind defences] but teams are going to start playing deeper and deeper against us, maybe in the Champions League too, so it might be even more difficult for us to play those balls in behind.
“It’s about being patient and picking the right moment to punish teams. It’s important he continues to make these runs. In 10 per cent of cases he can make the runs and open up space for others so it’s important to have him doing that. It will create chances for him and others.
“He’s going to show us a lot more. I think the club have signed an incredible player and person.”
City are hoping Haaland’s arrival will boost their prospects of winning the Champions League for the first time, with Gundogan admitting there was something a “little bit tragic” about the way they lost in the semi-finals to Real Madrid last season and Chelsea in the final the year before.
“I think the most important thing is the margin of mistakes, the little details that just decide games, especially when it comes to the quarters, semis and obviously the final,” he said. “The margins are so tight that no mistakes are really allowed. In the last few years, the way we got knocked out was maybe a little bit tragic but I don’t think we should regret anything. It is always an experience.
“We try to get there again and get better and that’s all we can do. We have to try to reach the maximum and see what’s going to happen.”
Gundogan inherited the captain’s armband from Fernandinho following the Brazilian’s departure this summer and said he had been in contact with his former team-mate to “ask him for advice and a few things”.
The German, 31, who is out of contract at the end of the season, also insisted he was relaxed about his future. “I’m very happy, I was throughout all my time at the club but obviously it’s football and in some ways it’s also a business,” he said. “We will see what will happen at the end of the season, but I just try to contribute to the team in the best way possible.”
John Stones is available again after injury but fellow defender Kyle Walker remains sidelined while the game is expected to come too soon for Aymeric Laporte, who took part in full training for the first time on Tuesday as he steps up his recovery from knee surgery.