Manchester City continued their impressive run in the Champions League as Pep Guardiola’s men defeated Borussia Dortmund 4-1 at the Etihad on Wednesday.
Phil Foden rediscovered his rhythm, scoring a brace, while Erling Haaland and Rayan Cherki contributed the other two of City’s four goals. On the other hand, Waldemar Anton scored Dortmund’s only goal in the 72nd minute.
With the victory, Manchester City extended their unbeaten run in the competition, while Dortmund suffered their first defeat of the campaign.
After four rounds, City climbed to fourth place with 10 points from three wins and a draw. Bayern Munich lead the standings with maximum points (12), while the next two sides, Arsenal and Inter Milan, also have 12 points each.
City dominate from the start
Guardiola’s men put Dortmund on the back foot from the opening whistle with a series of well-coordinated attacks. City took control of the match inside the first 30 minutes with two goals.
They nearly went ahead in the 10th minute, but Foden’s powerful low strike went straight to Gregor Kobel. Six minutes later, the Dortmund goalkeeper denied him again, this time saving a shot from outside the penalty area.
In the 22nd minute, Foden finally found the breakthrough. Receiving a pass from Tijjani Reijnders, the England midfielder advanced a few steps and fired a low diagonal drive that sneaked inside the far post.
Five minutes later, Haaland almost made it 2-0 as he set up Nico O’Reilly, but Kobel produced a superb reflex save, tipping the fierce attempt over the crossbar with one hand.
Moments later, Haaland doubled the lead. Jérémy Doku cut the ball back into the box, and the Norwegian striker smashed home a powerful first-time finish.
Haaland has now scored in all four of City’s Champions League matches this season, taking his tally to five goals in the competition and 18 across all competitions for the club this campaign.
Foden completes brace, Dortmund find consolation
Dortmund’s hopes of a comeback faded in the 57th minute when Foden picked up Reijnders’ pass and curled in a left-footed strike from just outside the box to make it 3-0.
The German side pulled one back in the 72nd minute. Waldemar Anton met a low pass from the right and redirected it with a left-footed touch, sending the ball into the net at the near post.
However, Dortmund could not build momentum, and City controlled the rest of the match. In the first minute of stoppage time, Cherki fired home to restore the three-goal margin and seal the win.
Dortmund, who had scored four goals in each of their opening three Champions League fixtures, tasted the opposite this time and returned home empty-handed. With 7 points, they have slipped to 14th place.
In other matches of the night, Barcelona dropped points in a 3-3 draw at Club Brugge after a defensive meltdown. They could have lost the match, but managed to find equalizers after conceding three times. Another Spanish side, Athletic Club, lost 2-0 to Newcastle United.
Two Italian clubs—Inter Milan and Atalanta—secured narrow victories, 2-1 against Kairat Almaty and 1-0 against Marseille respectively.
Bayer Leverkusen claimed their first win, beating Benfica 1-0 away, while Chelsea were held to a 2-2 draw by Qarabag FK.
