Phil Foden provides timely reminder that Manchester City don’t just rely on Erling Haaland | OneFootball

The inevitability was that, wearing the captain’s armband, facing his former club when he is in such irresistible form, Erling Haaland would score. The surprise was that anyone would outscore him. Sadly for Borussia Dortmund, it was not them, individually or collectively.

A Phil Foden double with certain similarities meant that this is as close as Haaland has come to being upstaged by anyone else at Manchester City this season. Many a match has lent itself to the theory that they are over-reliant on their giant talisman for goals, but this was not one of them, not with Rayan Cherki also finding the net. “I am happy it is not just Erling scoring goals,” said coach Pep Guardiola.

In condemning Dortmund to defeat, Foden may have also sent a message to a former Dortmund manager. Thomas Tuchel names his England squad on Friday, and Foden was omitted from the last. “Thomas is so smart and wise and knows what the national team needs,” said Guardiola. “There is no person in this country and all around the world that doesn’t know Phil’s qualities.” Foden illustrated them by ending a seven-game goal drought in style. More pertinently for City, he steered them into the top four in the table. A year on from finishing 22nd and flirting with an ignominiously early exit, they are better positioned. “We are better than last season by far,” said Guardiola.

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Erling Haaland smoked home Man City’s second goal to score against his former side (Nick Potts/PA Wire)

That owes something to Haaland, who has scored in all four Champions League games so far. He opted not to celebrate against Dortmund, though he has enough other goals he can mark in more exuberant style. If no opponent knows more about Haaland than Dortmund, they can testify that it is still of scant assistance when it comes to stopping him. He scored 86 in 89 games for them. He duly struck against them, a 27th of the season for club and country, a 10th in his last six games at the Etihad, and City’s second of the night. The previous time Dortmund visited Manchester, Haaland scored a spectacular bicycle kick. This was a ferocious finish after a cutback from Jeremy Doku.

Haaland almost had an assist, too. Nico O’Reilly, a left-back materialising in the centre-forward position, had a shot tipped over after a rampaging run from the stand-in skipper, who led City out with Bernardo Silva and Ruben Dias relegated to the bench.

Foden took on a different form of responsibility: in front of goal. His brace, the first steered into the bottom corner, the second curled, each came from around 20 yards. “It is like a pass to the net,” said Guardiola. “He is a special player.” Tijjani Reijnders assisted both goals, even if both owed rather more to scorer than supplier. But the Dutchman was recalled with Cherki demoted to the bench, despite his brace of assists against Bournemouth.

It was part of a tactical shift from Guardiola, and it worked. After deploying a narrow midfield on Sunday, he reverted to out-and-out wingers who opened up space between the lines for Foden. It helped that Savinho tormented Daniel Svensson, who was hampered by an early booking for fouling the Brazilian. If he has had a false start to the season, it was his best display of a mixed campaign so far. A criticism remains his lack of end product and perhaps, given the positions he got into, Savinho should have supplied a goal, though he came remarkably close, with Julian Ryerson nicking the ball away to deny Haaland a tap-in. Savinho might have scored, too, volleying over.

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Phil Foden scored a brace with two similar goals to return to form just ahead of the international break (Action Images via Reuters)

City joined Bayern Munich in a select group to beat Dortmund this season, and it became their heaviest defeat of the campaign. “I don’t think we are far enough there yet,” said manager Niko Kovac. “Last season, we lost against Barcelona home and away. We have to recognise we have world-class teams against us.” Yet there were also hints of why they are more recent Champions League finalists than City. “German teams never give up,” said Guardiola.

What eventually proved a consolation goal was taken in predatory fashion by Waldemar Anton from Ryerson’s cross, and there were moments when City looked fragile. “For the 10-15 minutes after the goal we conceded, it was not good,” admitted Guardiola.

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Rayan Cherki netted his first Champions League goal for City (AFP via Getty Images)

Memories may have been cast back a year, to when they gave up a 3-0 lead at home to Feyenoord in a collapse that came with consequences. This was no sequel. Guardiola switched to a back five, removed his wingers, made a triple change and sent on Dias and Silva in a search for solidity.

Yet the third arrival proved more significant. Cherki sealed victory, a purposeful dribble and shot getting him a first Champions League goal for City. Dortmund had scored four goals in each of their first three Champions League games this season. Instead, they conceded four here.

“We had so many world-class players arrayed against us,” rued Kovac. And, as Guardiola noted, it helped that it was not just one who scored. He said simply: “Phil is back.”