Matchday 4 of the UEFA Champions League saw Borussia Dortmund visit the Etihad stadium to face the 2023 champions, Manchester City.
The Game
Phil Foden once again showcased his brilliance in the Champions League, guiding Manchester City to a commanding 4-1 victory over Borussia Dortmund. The midfielder opened the scoring with a superb strike before Erling Haaland netted against his former side. Foden then added a delightful second after the interval to hand City a comfortable three-goal lead, though Pep Guardiola’s men flirted with danger late on.
Dortmund put pressure on the hosts in the second half and it paid off as the visitors scored in the 72nd minute through Waldemar Anton. The German side however, were unable to use that momentum to give Pep’s men a scare, as Ryan Cherki made sure to put the final nail in the coffin with his goal in stoppage time to put the tie to bed.
The Citizens, yet again dominated the match as they had 14 shots in total with 9 of them on target, compared to their opponents’ 6 shots. Dortmund’s only shot on goal was Anton’s goal in the second half. Guardiola’s men had 3.39 expected goals on target (xGOT) compared to their opponents measly 1.01.
Post Match Analysis
Phil Foden showed true brilliance as he overtook Brazilian legend Ronaldinho’s tally of all time Champions League goals, as the 25 year-old netted a brace. A vintage finish to open City’s account and a calculated strike to the same corner of the goal saw him earn the official Man of the Match award, and rightfully so.
Pep Guardiola was full of praise for the England international as he said,“Phil is fantastic. It’s going to help us a lot for him to score these types of goals. Just put the ball close to the posts. It’s like a pass to the net. We did it (won) and we have one more day to recover before Liverpool.”
The League Phase Table
Man City currently sit at a comfortable 4th place with 10 points in the league phase table as they continue their undefeated run(W3, D1), only behind Bayern, Arsenal and Inter Milan who are all at 12 points as they have a perfect 4/4 record so far.
Pep Guardiola aims to have a better finish in the league phase as his team did last season which ultimately required them to play the play-offs stage as they finished outside the top 8, where they ultimately fell to Real Madrid.
What’s Next?
right Man City will get a visit from reigning Premier League champions, Liverpool over the weekend as both teams in superior form clash before the international break commences. As for the Champions League, the 2023 winners will return to action later this month for Matchday 5, where they’ll welcome another Bundesliga side to the Etihad, as they face Bayer Leverkusen.
