Erling Haaland continued his astonishing goalscoring streak as he fired past his former club in Manchester City’s 4–1 Champions League win over Borussia Dortmund.
Phil Foden’s pinpoint strike had already laid the foundations for Haaland to haunt his old side, the Scandi sharpshooter hammering home City’s second of the evening on the half-hour mark to ensure an emphatic lead at the break.
Foden produced another sumptuous finish after the break to put the game beyond doubt, with Waldemar Anton’s near-post finish nothing more than a consolation for Dortmund on their travels. Rayan Cherki even managed to restore City’s three-goal cushion in stoppage time to cap an impressive display.
The result lifts City to fourth in the Champions League table and further boosts confidence levels ahead of the weekend’s crunch Premier League clash with Liverpool.
Man City Player Ratings (4-1-4-1)
GK: Gianluigi Donnarumma—8.0: Seldom tested before the half-time whistle, but did rebuff Karim Adeyemi’s low drive to keep City two goals ahead. Busier after the break and once again reacted well to deny Serhou Guirassy and Carney Chukwuemeka.
RB: Matheus Nunes—6.7: Rarely troubled by Svensson or Maximilian Beier, with the City right back more involved in the opposition half than his own.
CB: John Stones—7.0: Much like Nunes, the England international enjoyed a relatively quiet evening from a defensive standpoint. Called upon more often in the closing stages and produced one excellent block to deny Adeyemi.
CB: Joško Gvardiol—7.1: Kept Guirassy under wraps alongside Stones, but will be disappointed by losing his clean sheet amid a flurry of late Dortmund chances.
LB: Nico O’Reilly—7.0: Incredibly advanced throughout as his surging runs from left back created overloads in the penalty area. He could have scored for a second successive game midway through the first half, too.
DM: Nico González—7.8: Screened the back four impressively with Rodri rested, winning the ball back in the engine room and recycling possession effectively. Allowed City’s more creative stars to flourish.
RM: Savinho—7.5: Tormented Daniel Svensson from the first whistle, forcing the wing back into an early yellow card and continually sprinting at the Swede at full tilt thereafter. An encouraging display from the Brazilian.
CM: Tijjani Reijnders—8.6: Boasts an exquisite first touch that was frequently on show at the Etihad as he drifted around the midfield. Found Foden for City’s opener and third with neat passes, producing a performance similar to those witnessed early in the season.
CM: Phil Foden—9.2: Wreaked havoc as he occupied the space in between Dortmund’s midfield and defence. Scored his 10th and then 11th goal from outside the penalty area since the beginning of the 2023–24 season as he utterly destroyed City’s Bundesliga visitors.
LM: Jérémy Doku—8.1: Typically electrifying down City’s left wing as he surged beyond Julian Ryerson regularly. Picked out Haaland for City’s second after expertly working his way to the byline and was a constant thorn in Dortmund’s side. An exceptional performance.
ST: Erling Haaland—8.3: Handed the captain’s armband and led by example. Almost grabbed an assist in the first half as he powered through Dortmund bodies and teed up Nico O’Reilly, shortly after which he rattled home yet another goal.
Subs not used: James Trafford (GK), Marcus Bettinelli (GK), Abdukodir Khusanov, Nathan Aké, Rico Lewis, Oscar Bobb.
Borussia Dortmund (4-2-3-1)
Starting XI: Gregor Kobel; Waldemar Anton, Nico Schlotterbeck, Ramy Bensebaini; Julian Ryerson, Marcel Sabitzer, Felix Nmecha, Daniel Svensson; Karim Adeyemi, Maximilian Beier; Serhou Guirassy.
Subs used: Carney Chukwuemeka, Jobe Bellingham, Emre Can, Pascal Groß, Fábio Silva.
Player of the Match: Phil Foden
Man City 4–1 Borussia Dortmund—How It Unfolded at the Etihad Stadium
Haaland’s reunion with Dortmund stole the headlines leading into Wednesday’s fixture, but it was Foden who delivered the first blow in Manchester. The midfielder had already tested Gregor Kobel prior to effortlessly caressing his 20-yard shot into the Swiss goalkeeper’s bottom corner.
City’s opener ignited the fire and, rather unsurprisingly, Haaland soon got his customary goal to all but end the contest after just half-an-hour. Terrific work from Jérémy Doku forged the opportunity for the relentless Norwegian, who thundered beyond Kobel to score his 27th goal of the campaign for club and country.
The two-goal cushion allowed City to operate with a swagger reminiscent of their best sides of the Pep Guardiola era. The bulging of the net looked inevitable with every foray forward as they swept through their visitors, Tijjani Reijnders coming closest to a third before the half-time whistle as he stung Kobel’s palms.
Adeyemi had threatened to reduce the deficit before the break as he forced Gianluigi Donnarumma into a smart save, but usual business resumed after the restart. City continued to strut their stuff as Doku and Savinho became increasingly prominent in the wide areas, with the latter bringing a fine stop out of Kobel.
City eventually clinched a third just before the hour mark as the fantastic Foden curled another beautiful strike into the bottom corner. Nearly identical to his opening goal, the Englishman bent beyond Kobel to hammer home City’s superiority, with Dortmund protestations for a foul in the build-up ultimately falling on deaf ears.
Guirassy and Adeyemi had warned City that their complacency could make for a nervy finish as they came close to breaching Donnarumma’s goal, and Dortmund defender Anton did eventually fire beyond the Italian stopper. The unlikely scorer converted a well-worked free kick to add a hint of jeopardy.
Anton’s effort sparked a late surge from Dortmund as they sought to set nerves jangling inside the Etihad, but it was City who conjured up the game’s fifth goal as substitute Cherki danced past several yellow and black shirts before rifling in his first Champions League goal.
Man City vs. Borussia Dortmund Half Time Stats
Man City vs. Borussia Dortmund Full Time Stats
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Man City Player Ratings vs. Borussia Dortmund: On-Fire Haaland Haunts Former Club.