Erling Haaland gave Marco Reus and Co. an almost comforting hug after he personally destroyed Dortmund’s dream of a coup at Manchester City. In the end, the Norwegian goalkeeper, who had scored the 2-1 (0-0) winning goal for the English team against his former club BVB, celebrated.
The surprise for Dortmund was within reach, but in the end they were left empty-handed. After a defensively disciplined performance for a long time, BVB led 1-0 up to the 80th minute, but then conceded defeat on the second day of the Champions League. The black series against teams from the English Premier League continued, with BVB now losing the last eight duels in a row.
Hummels: “The frustration is very deep”
Manchester’s hero was Haaland with the dream goal in the 84th minute, while the Dortmund cover had the Norwegian, who switched from BVB to City in the summer, well under control. John Stones equalized the Dortmund lead by Jude Bellingham in his English homeland (56th) (80th), BVB substitute keeper Alexander Meyer did not look good with his long-range shot.
“The frustration is very deep,” said Mats Hummels at DAZN: “It’s about winning, a point wouldn’t have been bad either. We had City. We sacrificed ourselves. Just before we conceded, we become passive and hope the game then City isn’t that bad.(…) We were tired.It wasn’t because of the tactical change, but because we allowed two free balls in front of the goal instead of over the 95th minute limit.” With a view to the match winner, Hummels said: “Erling Haaland is just Erling Haaland.”
And BVB coach Edin Terzic said: “Now we’re going home empty-handed. That’s really bitter, the boys deserved at least one point.”
Before the ball rolled, the obligatory Champions League anthem was dispensed with out of respect for the late Queen Elizabeth II, and Manchester also did not play any music in the stadium before the game. Both teams also observed a minute’s silence and played with black ribbons. The flags at the stadium have been at half-mast since the Queen’s death on Thursday.
Haaland was largely unregistered in the storm center
The reunion with Haaland was warm before kick-off. After all, the Norwegian had achieved great things for BVB in the past two and a half years with 86 goals and 109 direct involvements in goals in 89 competitive games. So it was now a question of getting this elemental force under control on the other side. Dortmund chose a very defensive variant. When the hosts had possession of the ball, the black and yellow closed the center with seven or eight players. “The whole team is very dangerous. It would be negligent to focus only on Erling. We have to prevent the allusions to Erling,” Terzic explained the tactics.
A tactic that bothered the English champions. Accordingly dissatisfied, Pep Guardiola marched up and down in the coaching zone. Almost unimaginatively, Man City circled the ball around the Bundesliga club’s penalty area without really causing any danger. So Haaland was largely unregistered in the storm center. The Norwegian recorded a total of eleven ball contacts in the first 45 minutes, even Anthony Modeste had one more on the opposite side.
BVB still had to change its central defense. After national player Nico Schlotterbeck complained of back pain in the final training session, Terzic relied on Niklas Süle and Mats Hummels in central defense. Schlotterbeck came on later. It was also Süle who cleared a dangerous cross with a header just before Haaland (15th). It was almost one of the highlights of an uneventful first half. Because even Dortmund didn’t endanger Ederson’s goal with their relief attacks.
Bellingham headed in unstoppable for Ederson
Those who had expected the hosts to attack in the second round were disappointed. Instead, BVB became bolder on the counterattack. Reus had a great chance to take the lead when he let his former teammate Manuel Akanji get out perfectly, but then put the ball just wide of the goal (52′). Akanji only switched to City shortly before the end of the transfer period and verbally attacked his ex-club again.
If Reus was still very unlucky with his huge chance, the national player was decisive for the opening goal shortly afterwards. Bellingham deflected his shot with a header into Ederson’s goal. Significantly, Haaland and Akanji had let the Englishman escape. At the other end, it wasn’t until the 66th minute that the Norwegian got his first chance to score, when he put the ball on the outside of the post from a tight angle.
But it was the wake-up call for the hosts, who became more precise in their actions. However, BVB keeper Meyer did not cut a good figure when Stones equalized. And just minutes later, Haaland still came to his performance. After a Joao Cancelo cross, the Norwegian was there from close range.