Man City came from behind to beat Borussia Dortmund at the Etihad Stadium. After a first period devoid of chances and excitement, the second half was completely the opposite. Jude Bellingham headed Dortmund just before the hour mark, but Stones and Haaland struck in the final 10 minutes to give Guardiola's side victory. City were far from their best and Dortmund did not deserve to leave empty handed.
The first half of the match was far from a classic. Man City had more possession and territory, but hardly threatened the Dortmund goal and did not even have a shot on target. Haaland was kept very quiet in the first half while Dortmund had just one curling effort through Ozcan on 16 minutes which was caught by Ederson. It was a dull first 45 and it was rightly goalless at the interval.
Dortmund had a very clear chance to go ahead early in the second half when a Dortmund counter saw Ozcan pass to Marco Reus and he left Nathan Ake on the floor before pulling his effort wide of the far post. Then, just before the hour mark, Dortmund took the lead.
Reyna's corner was only half-cleared and Reus' goalbound shot was turned in by Jude Bellingham's head. It was a huge blow for Guardiola's men and City responded with an immediate tripe change as Foden, Julian Alvarez and Bernardo Silva replaced Grealish, Gundogan and Mahrez.
September 14, 2022
Man City looked to get back into the contest and Haaland could have made it 1-1 after 66 minutes after getting on the end of a De Bruyne pass. However, the Norwegian hit wide from a tight angle when cutting back for Phil Foden would have been a better option. Then, moments later, Foden played a perfect low cross for Haaland at the far post, but Mats Hummels got a vital toe to it.
The hosts got an equaliser 10 minutes from time when De Bruyne laid off to Stones and his powerful effort from distance beat Meyer-Schade. The goalkeeper did not cover himself in glory as it should have been a routine stop and four minutes later, he had to pick the ball out of his net again.
Joao Cancelo played a ball with the outside of his foot to Haaland at the back stick and he acrobatically reached the ball and directed it into the goal. It was a sensational strike and, although Malen hit wide at the death, Man City held on to take the points.