Manchester City 4-1 Borussia Dortmund: Phil Foden set off fireworks on Bonfire Night as Pep Guardiola’s side took three wins from four in the Champions League.
Phil Foden hit the ground running with his best performance of the season as Manchester City beat Borussia Dortmund 4-1 at Bonfire Night, giving them a strong start to their new Champions League campaign.
Foden brilliantly broke the deadlock with a clean finish midway through the first half. This was followed by the arrogant Haaland, who took control of City’s game by finishing a second ahead of Gregor Korbel.
Unsurprisingly, City started the second half well and it was the brilliant Foden who scored the best goal of the night just before the hour mark to essentially end the game.
Dortmund responded with 18 minutes remaining courtesy of Valdemar Anton, but Rayan Cherki added a fourth just before full-time, with City in no danger of faltering ahead of this weekend’s clash with Liverpool. Here, Mirror Football looks at the game’s big talking points…
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1. Foden’s memories of England
Forty-eight hours before Thomas Tuchel named his squad for next week’s England double-header, Foden sent the Three Lions manager a timely reminder of his quality on another great night in the Champions League for City.
The attacking midfielder has returned to the opposition after a difficult season last season, but has yet to rediscover the spark that saw him crowned Premier League Player of the Year the last time City won the title.
But as the old saying goes, form is temporary and class is permanent. And we saw a lot of class from Cityman here with two quality goals.
2. Haaland haunts Dortmund
You probably (or should) know the drill by now: Haaland plays, Haaland scores, Haaland breaks new records. What are his recent notable accomplishments? The Norwegian’s 18th goal of the season made him the first player in Champions League history to score in five consecutive games for three different clubs.
City’s scoring phenomenon took them away from Dortmund many times during their Bundesliga era. They know everything about him. But stopping him is easier said than done.
3. Jobe Shaw in Bellingham
There was great excitement when Jobe Bellingham followed in his brother’s footsteps and moved to Dortmund. However, the midfielder was again on the bench for Wednesday night’s crucial game and could only watch as City struggled to beat Dortmund in the first half.
Although he has started just five of 15 games for his new club, the talented 20-year-old has attracted interest from the Premier League and has been linked with a return to English football. He was brought on from the bench here with the game effectively over, but such speculation is unlikely to abate any time soon.
4. City issues warning to Liverpool
The big talking point before the match was the absence of Rodri, who, according to Guardiola, “feels not complete”. And while it will be a huge shame to miss him when City play Liverpool on Sunday, overall the health of Guardiola’s team looks very poor.
City no longer have the air of invincibility they showed when they won back-to-back titles, but with Foden and Haaland singing, they will take chances against anyone. Liverpool enter the weekend fresh off a win over Real Madrid, but are out of form.
5. Donnarumma gives a lesson
For most of Wednesday night, Gianluigi Donnarumma had nothing to do. But he showed why many consider him the best keeper in the world, erasing Dortmund’s chances of a comeback after Anton’s late goal.
The Italian international was alert when a delay was needed in the closing stages, making two crucial interceptions in a 3-1 situation. City have quality all over the pitch and in Donnarumma they may be the best in class.
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