Manchester City 4-1 Borussia Dortmund: Foden shines and Haaland haunts his former club again | OneFootball

Manchester City cruised to a 4-1 victory over Borussia Dortmund at the Etihad Stadium, climbing into fourth place in the Champions League league phase and knocking the visitors out of the top eight in the process.

Phil Foden set City on their way with the opener, before Erling Haaland doubled the lead before the interval.

Foden struck again shortly after the restart to put City out of sight, and although Waldemar Anton pulled one back for Dortmund, substitute Rayan Cherki sealed a commanding win for the hosts late on.

As it happened

Jérémy Doku has become a regular starter for Manchester City this season and created the first opening of the game, with his penetrating pass going through the 18-yard box and gliding past the right post.

Foden then fashioned a great shot from the edge of the box in his signature fashion, but Gregor Kobel was there to the rescue, beating the ball away towards Savinho, who was already in an offside position.

The boyhood Blue soon had another opportunity from a free kick after Savinho was taken down on the edge of the box, but the shot landed straight into the hands of Dortmund’s stopper.

It was third time lucky for Foden in the 22nd minute as he finally broke the deadlock in style. The 25-year-old was picked out by Tijjani Reijnders in acres of space on the edge of the box and opened up his body to curl a ruthless finish into the corner, leaving Kobel with no chance.

Haaland was wearing the armband for the Citizens and nearly became the architect for their second goal. The striker ran through the heart of Dortmund’s defence and offloaded to Nico O’Reilly, who fired on the turn and was denied by Kobel.

Pep Guardiola’s side were clearly on top, and Savinho was looking lively, but his deflected cross was brushed away by Kobel, only for City to score in the second phase of the attack.

Unsurprisingly, it was the City’s prolific Norwegian who haunted his old club once more and doubled his side’s lead in the 29th minute. Doku skipped past Julian Ryerson with ease before delivering a perfectly timed pass towards the centre of the penalty area, where Haaland ruthlessly smashed the ball into the back of the net, paying respect to Dortmund with an absence of celebration.

Manchester City’s attacks were becoming relentless as Reijnders was the next to test Kobel from the edge of the box, firing with power into the top corner after being set up by Savinho, who was starting to run riot on the right wing.

Down the other end, Gianluigi Donnarumma was finally forced into action by Karim Adeyemi, who squeezed into the penalty area and saw his left-footed strike beaten away by the Italian keeper.

The hosts nearly got themselves in trouble as Serhou Guirassy dispossessed Matheus Nunes inside City’s box and found Adeyemi inside the six-yard box, but John Stones got back in time to block the shot.

But in a flash, City were back on the front foot, Haaland letting one fly from distance straight into the hands of Kobel.

Guirassy barely had a sniff in the first half, and his stoppage-time attempt sailed over the bar, summing up Dortmund’s first-half display.

Guardiola’s men continued their stunning performance straight from the restart as Savinho got away from Daniel Svensson and drew another save from Kobel, further justifying his return to the starting line-up.

Niko Kovač’s team tried to respond through Felix Nmecha, who had a half-chance in City’s box, but he dragged his effort horribly wide.

Haaland was eagerly searching for a second and played a quick one-two with O’Reilly and Doku, before unleashing another shot into the near corner, saved by Kobel.

However, there was no stopping Manchester City, who looked much like their old self throughout the night, and Foden was soon at the double. In fact, his goal nearly mirrored his first, as he bent another beautiful left-footed shot into the far corner in the 57th minute after another assist from Reijnders.

Savinho deserved a goal at the Etihad and had a great opportunity after Foden’s floating ball found him unmarked at the back post, but the Brazilian sliced the effort and sent the ball over on the half-volley.

Guirassy was trying his best to fashion a rare Dortmund chance, his left-footed strike deflected for a corner by Stones.

Dortmund’s top scorer finally had a real goalscoring chance after finding his way into the box from the right, yet it was difficult to score from a tight angle, and Donnarumma made a great save to divert the ball for a corner.

Kovač made four simultaneous substitutions and brought a little more energy into his side, as Adeyemi attempted a low shot from outside the box, narrowly missing the corner.

The visitors finally pulled a goal back in the 72nd minute, capitalising on a quickly taken free-kick. Ryerson drilled the ball from the right wing, and Anton pounced from close quarters, sending the ball past Donnarumma and scoring his first career Champions League goal.

The pendulum swung Dortmund’s way after the goal, and the visitors continued attacking, Ryerson the latest to miss the target after a cross from Adeyemi.

Adeyemi himself then had another chance as he looked to capitalise on the cross from substitute Pascal Groß, but Stones was there to make another brilliant block.

Anton was soon eyeing a brace, his back-post header beaten away by Donnarumma, as Dortmund grew in confidence.

The hosts responded with substitutes of their own and managed to slow Dortmund’s momentum in the final stages, before restoring a three-goal advantage in the first minute of stoppage time.

Cherki came off the bench to score his first Champions League goal and wrap up a 4-1 victory for the Citizens. The Frenchman collected the ball in Dortmund’s half and cut into the middle before finding the bottom corner with his right foot after a tiny deflection off substitute Emre Can.

Pep Guardiola’s men now look ahead to their weekend matchup with Liverpool, while Dortmund prepare for a trip to Hamburg in the Bundesliga.

The line-ups:

MCI: Donnarumma; Nunes, Stones, Gvardiol, O’Reilly; Nico; Savinho, Reijnders, Foden, Doku; Haaland

BVB: Kobel; Anton, Schlotterbeck, Bensebaini; Ryerson, Sabitzer, Nmecha, Svensson; Adeyemi, Beier; Guirassy