MANCHESTER CITY 4-1 BORUSSIA DORTMUND: Phil Foden provided the fireworks on Bonfire Night as Pep Guardiola’s side made it three wins from four in the Champions League
Phil Foden exploded into life with his best performance of the season as Manchester City blitzed Borussia Dortmund 4-1 on Bonfire Night to maintain their fine start to the new Champions League campaign.
It was Foden broke the deadlock in style courtesy of a neat finish midway through the first half. That was followed up by the imperious Haaland, who emphatically swept a second beyond Gregor Kobel to tighten City’s grip on proceedings.
Unsurprisingly, City started the second half in their groove and it was the fabulous Foden who netted the best goal of the evening to effectively kill off the game before the hour mark.
Dortmund replied with 18 minutes left courtesy of Waldemar Anton but it never felt like there was any danger of a City wobble ahead of their seismic showdown with Liverpool this weekend, and Rayan Cherki added a fourth just before full-time. Here, Mirror Football looks at the game’s big talking points…
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1. Foden’s England reminder
48 hours before Thomas Tuchel names his squad for England’s international double-header next week, Foden sent the Three Lions chief a timely reminder of the quality he possesses on another fine night for City in the Champions League.
The attacking midfielder is coming out the other side after a difficult year last season, though he is yet to rediscover the dazzling form that saw him crowned as the Premier League’s best player when City last won the title.
As the old saying goes, though, form is temporary, class is permanent. And we saw plenty of the City man’s class here, capped with two quality goals.
2. Haaland haunts Dortmund
You know the drill by now (or you should): Haaland plays, Haaland scores, Haaland breaks another record. His latest remarkable feat? The Norwegian’s 18th goal of the season means he becomes the first player in Champions League history to score in five consecutive games for three different clubs.
City’s goalscoring phenomenon plundered many a goal for Dortmund during his years in the Bundesliga. They know all about him. But stopping him is easier said than done.
3. Jobe show for Bellingham
There was plenty of excitement when Jobe Bellingham followed in his elder brother’s footsteps by moving to Dortmund. But the midfielder was named on the bench again for Wednesday night’s big game and could only watch on as City put Dortmund to the sword in the first half.
There has been talk of a return to English football with Premier League interest in the uber-talented 20-year-old, who has started just five times across 15 games for his new club. He was introduced off the bench here with the game effectively done, which is unlikely to dampen such speculation anytime soon.
4. City send Liverpool warning
The big talking point before the game was the absence of Rodri, who “does not feel perfect”, per Pep Guardiola. And while he will be sorely missed when City and Liverpool collide on Sunday, on the whole, Guardiola’s side look in rude health.
City no longer have the air of invincibility they adorned during successive title wins but will fancy their chances against anyone with Foden and Haaland on song. Liverpool have been out of sorts themselves, although they head into the weekend fresh off of beating Real Madrid.
5. Donnarumma shows class
For large parts of Wednesday evening, Gianluigi Donnarumma had nothing to do. But he showed why many consider him the best keeper in the world to banish any chance of a Dortmund comeback after Anton’s late goal.
The Italy international was alert when he needed to be late on and made two vital interceptions at 3-1. City have quality all over the pitch and in Donnarumma, they may just have the best in class.
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