Match Report and Player Ratings: Manchester City 4-1 Borussia Dortmund (UEFA Champions League League Phase) | OneFootball

Manchester City shot into the upper reaches of the league phase table with a 4-1 victory over Borussia Dortmund in the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday night.

City have been irresistible going forward in Europe this term and added some glorious goals to their collection with Phil Foden’s exquisite opener and Erling Haaland’s hammer blow putting them two up in the first-half.

Foden made it a first-ever Champions League brace in the second-half with a goal of similar outstanding quality to his first, and despite Waldemar Anton pulling one back and cueing a decent late spell for Dortmund, Rayan Cherki added a late fourth for a third win in four games in the league stage.

A disjointed opening 10 minutes from the hosts saw Dortmund exert pressure in the final third, but the first chance fell City’s way as Foden forced a save out of Gregor Kobel from that edge-of-the-area zone in which he was so clinical two seasons ago, before Savinho blazed the rebound over from an offside position.

The following 10 minutes weren’t exactly full of standout football either, but Foden soon got another chance from just outside the area, and this one was always going in; Tijjani Reijnders picked out the Englishman in acres of space, he advanced a few strides and then beautifully placed his strike beyond the reach of Kobel and into the bottom corner.

City were finding their stride, and Erling Haaland was keen to impress against his former side, brutally blasting his way beyond three yellow shirts and teeing up Nico O’Reilly, whose effort was top-corner-bound but for Kobel’s save.

So the Norwegian decided to do it himself – Jeremy Doku was too hot to handle for Julian Ryerson and put his cutback into the perfect area, and Haaland was inevitably waiting to lash into the back of the net for his fifth Champions League goal of the season in just his fourth game.

Dortmund were in danger of being blown away by City, as Reijnders again forced Kobel into action with a powerfully-struck drive, before Karim Adeyemi came the closest the visitors could get to a response in the opening period as he cut inside and forced a sharp stop from Gianluigi Donnarumma.

They simply couldn’t live with Foden though, and his second goal just before the hour mark was arguably even better than the first, again receiving from Reijnders but this time with a whole host of Dortmund players around him, and he turned with immaculate fluidity and guided his finish gorgeously beyond Kobel.

City did play themselves into difficulty at times and needed Donnarumma again when Nico O’Reilly presented a chance to Serhou Guirassy, with the Italian standing tall to deny the Guinean from a tight angle.

Borussia Dortmund did get their goal not long after though, catching Manchester City cold on a set-piece as Ryerson got free on the right flank and picked out defender Anton for a striker’s finish.

A nervier spell followed for the Blues but they rode it out, then substitute Cherki made it a fourth nice goal of the night as he carried a long way into the Dortmund box and hit home via a deflection for his first Champions League goal, sealing a great night which saw City shoot up to fourth in the league table.

Here’s how we rated the players in Manchester City’s impressive victory over Borussia Dortmund!

Player Ratings

Starting XI

Gianluigi Donnarumma – 7.5

Will be disappointed that it’s now been three matches since he last kept a clean sheet for Manchester City, but couldn’t do anything about the close-range goal and had made two good saves prior. Swept fantastically to deny Dortmund late on.

Matheus Nunes – 7.5

Yet another strong showing of physicality, endeavour and – most crucially when comparing with his previous struggles at the Etihad Stadium – concentration.

John Stones – 7.5

Played from the back well, orchestrating those in front of him. Didn’t have a great deal of defending to do but produced a big block with City under slight pressure at 3-1.

Josko Gvardiol – 7

Played a few sloppy passes in the early exchanges, but did some great work sweeping in behind.

Nico O’Reilly – 7.5

Fared better with the ball than without it, driving forward and linking up really well with Jeremy Doku. Came under a bit of pressure when Dortmund attacked down his side.

Nico – 8

He’s developing into a world-class defensive midfielder before our eyes. The addition of pausa into his game is a big part of that; the Spaniard knew exactly how long to hold onto the ball to draw Dortmund in, before releasing the perfect pass nearly every time.

Tijjani Reijnders – 8

Linked play neatly and was heavily involved in the dangerous attacking of the first 45, collecting an assist in either half. His influence did wane a little in the second period though.

Phil Foden – 9 (POTM)

He’s deserved this for his performances lately. Was superb again from deep tonight, dominating midfield proceedings, but also produced destructive damage in the attacking third with a pair of sumptuous finishes.

Savinho – 7

A mixed game, as he struggled early on but then came to life when Manchester City started targeting his side and giving him one-on-one chances against Daniel Svensson.

Erling Haaland – 8

Just the one goal? Rubbish! City’s captain didn’t have all the chances he might have hoped for against his old team tonight, but snaffled the one clear opening he did get and held the ball up and linked with his teammates very well.

Jeremy Doku – 8

Assisted Erling Haaland in his trademark flash-of-lightning style, and was a big part of attack.

Substitutes

Ruben Dias – 7

Made some good clearances out of the City area.

Bernardo Silva – 7

Threw in a foot where necessary and held onto the ball well.

Rayan Cherki – 7

Produced some nice touches and rounded the scoring beautifully.

Rayan Ait-Nouri – N/A

Omar Marmoush – N/A