Haaland pounces late on to seal comeback win for City
ACROBATICS: Erling Haaland of Manchester City scores a goal to make it 2-1 during the UEFA Champions League group G match between Manchester City and Borussia Dortmund. (Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt - AMA/Getty Images)
ERLING Haaland’s demolition of all before him continued against familiar foes last night as his spectacular 83rd minute goal saw City home against his former club, taking his tally to 13 goals before mid-September in the process.
It was a stupendous finish, as he twisted acrobatically in mid-air to somehow flick a boot onto the end of a Joao Cancelo cross despite defensive pressure, a killer blow to Dortmund who had looked capable of inflicting a first home defeat on Pep Guardiola’s side in 21 European ties.
Young England star Jude Bellingham had handed Borussia a deserved 56th minute lead with a deft header, magnificently guided past Ederson, after Marco Reus had played in an equally perfect cross following a Dortmund corner.
But, on 80 minutes, Dortmund made their first defensive mistake of the night, failing to close down John Stones as he collected Kevin De Bruyne’s short pass and planted a thunderous finish from the edge of the area.
The key for Haaland to steal the headlines again with a goal that makes it 26 in 21 career Champions League ties, at a rate of one goal every 62 minutes and not even a booking for Guardiola, for arguing with the referee after the final whistle, could ruin another evening in the growing legend of his star striker.
As has been the case for so much of this new season, all eyes were on Haaland last night and for good reason as his current club hosted the team he left behind last summer.
Dortmund, therefore, knew all about what they were facing in a striker whose goal haul included two in Sevilla last week as City got group play underway with a comfortable win and the Norwegian maintained his remarkable scoring feats in the competition.
It was against this backdrop that City turned in a curiously lacklustre first half, largely going through the motions as they dominated possession, as is so often the case in any of their contests.
Haaland, perhaps inevitably, remained a relative by-stander until late in the game and, when team-mates did try and find him, discovered that his former colleagues were wise to his moves and ploys.
Niklas Sule, for example, made one particularly well-timed aerial challenge to derby Haaland just as he appeared poised to appear on the end of a Riyad Mahrez cross.
And there was a promising De Bruyne attack that ended with a potentially brilliant ball into the area which, to the frustrations of the home support, just eluded Haaland.
Instead, there were a couple of long-range Cancelo efforts but little to worry goalkeeper Alexander Meyer while the boisterous and sizeable contingent of travelling German fans could be well pleased with their team’s first half endeavours.
In fact, there were several promising forays on the counter-attack by the Bundesliga team and a Raphael Guerreiro pass set up Salih Ozcan for a curling shot which Ederson had to extend himself to catch at full-stretch.
Those visiting supporters had also partaken in a minute’s silence impeccably observed by the entire stadium before kick-off in honour of the Queen, a stark contrast to the discord the gesture had created at Anfield 24 hours earlier.
But, once the action was underway, the atmosphere was as flat as City’s performance, perhaps the upshot of City having made qualifying from group play in the Champions League such a routine matter in the Guardiola years - a trend supported by that 4-0 away win against Sevilla on match day one.
It did not help that Jack Grealish’s frustrations continued, with the winger making poor decisions with the ball - often going backwards or taking selfish options and thumping the ball against the bodies of opponents; never a particularly good idea when they world’s most in-form striker is ahead of you in the opposition area.
With Phil Foden, Bernardo Silva and Julian Alvarez, among others, all waiting on the bench, Guardiola resisted the temptation to make immediate changes at the interval, even if the first half had suggested they were necessary.
There was an early darting run by De Bruyne and a cross which was easily cut out by Meyer, with Haaland arriving to meet it behind him.
But, on 52 minutes, City should really have been behind when Emre Can played in Borussia skipper Reus, who waited for defender Manuel Akanji to commit himself and then flashed a shot across the face of the home goal.
It was an attack which prompted Guardiola to order Foden, Silva and Alvarez to strip but, as they were so doing, disaster struck and Dortmund snatched the opening goal their disciplined performance had merited.
The triple substitution duly followed although it was one of City’s starting line-up, De Bruyne, who finally gave Haaland his first sight of goal with a 66th minute through ball which the striker put into the side-netting from a difficult angle.
And Mats Hummels made an amazing sliding interception to again deny Haaland as he arrived on the end of a deadly-looking Foden cross although, for all their attacking talent on display, it would taken defender Stones to fuel the comeback.
Ederson 6; Stones 7, Akanji 7, Ake 7, Cancelo 7; De Bruyne 6, Rodri 8, Gundogan 6 (Silva 58, 6); Mahrez 5 (Alvarez 58, 6), Haaland 7 (Phillips 90), Grealish 5 (Foden 58, 6). Substitutes (not used) Ortega, Carson, Dias, Gomez, Palmer, Lewis, Wilson-Esbrand.
Meyer 7; Meunier 6, Sule 8, Hummels 7, Guerreiro 7; Ozcan 6 (Adeyemi 88), Can 7, Bellingham 6; Reus 7 (Moukoko 88), Modeste 6 (Schlotterbeck 78, 6), Reyna 6 (Malen 61, 6).
Substitutes (not used) Unbehaun, Hazard, Wolf, Brandt,Passlack, Rothe, Coulibaly.
D Orsato (Italy)
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