Spirited Dortmund falter to Haaland's Manchester City
Jude Bellingham's second half goal was cancelled out by late strikes from Stones and Haaland, as Terzic's well drilled Dortmund ran out of steam in the game's closing minutes.
| Marco Reus. | Photo: Steffen Prößdorf, CC BY-SA 4.0 |
From the off City naturally held the bulk of possession inside the opening 10 minutes, while Dortmund was content to settle in as their fans got behind them. Mahrez gave the visitors an early warning sign when his cross was destined for the head of Haaland but for Süle’s crucial intervention. Dortmund responded when they created a half chance of their own at the other end. Guerreiro cut in off the left to feed Özcan whose curling shot nestled in the hands of Ederson.
Terzić’s Dortmund perhaps should have done better on the break just after the half hour mark – City caught in possession freed up space for Meunier who ultimately failed to pick out anyone from the onrushing Modeste, Reus, and Bellingham. The teams went into the dressing rooms all square just as they had when they came out. Perhaps a bit of mutual respect was shown between both teams as City were reluctant to press, while Die Schwarzgelben sat deep and compact any time Pep Guardiola’s side began to attack.
Alexander Meyer had a quiet first half by any goalkeepers’ standards facing this Man City side. He was called into action inside five minutes of the restart however, as he routinely gathered a cross from Mahrez’s right flank. Dortmund had the best chance on 51 minutes – a beautifully worked move allowed Özcan to slip in the overlapping Reus. The Dortmund captain expertly cut inside former teammate Akanji only to bend his effort beyond the far post from the narrowest of angles. Almost coincidentally as Dortmund grew in confidence, the North Rhine-Westphalia side took the lead. A deep corner landed at the feet of Marco Reus who fired a dangerous cross back in for Jude Bellingham to glance a header beyond Ederson taking a 0-1 advantage.
Haaland came closest for City on 66 minutes – Dortmund caught in possession in midfield allowed the ex-Borussia striker in behind only for him to strike the foot of the post. As City rang in a triple change from the bench, new man Phil Foden’s whipped delivery was magnificently cleared to safety by Hummels leaving Haaland was left visibly annoyed. Just as Nico Schlotterbeck came in for Modeste in a bid to hold what they had; Dortmund conceded moments later. Goalkeeper Meyer was partially unsighted but should have done better as John Stones ambitious strike sailed past the German.
Dortmund was beginning to fatigue and as luck would have it, and sure enough their former striker came back to hurt them. A wonderful cross from the left wing was acrobatically turned home by none other than Erling Haaland back to haunt his old side as City took a 2-1 lead. Malen went close at the death, but it was heartbreak for Terzić’s charges who held firm so gallantly tonight. Dortmund now turns their attention to the small matter of the Revierderby that lies on the horizon ahead of the International break.