Match report
Jamie Jackson knows so much about football in Manchester that if you removed his bucket hat, opened his head and looked inside, you’d see Manny from The Stone Roses and Frank Gallagher from Shameless playing head tennis. Here’s how he saw tonight’s action unfold ...
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Pep Guardiola's post-match thoughts ...
“I am incredibly happy for this club, for this organisation, for our chairman, our players, our fans ... for everyone,” he says in a chat with Reshmin from BT Sport. “It’s the second time we get to the semi-finals in our club, there is not much history here. We were brilliant, except for the first 10 minutes when they were good. And the last three minutes of the second half we were so good. I am incredibly happy to be in the semi-finals, the best four teams in Europe. We are going to try and arrive good and play a good game.”
How proud are you of what you’ve been able to build in this side: “This competition is nice but at the same time it is so unfair,” he says. “We are judged on it. If we go out we are a failure, the season is a disaster when you play 11 monthsd for the Premier League, for the Cups, for everything.
Look, today it was a penalty with a hand and maybe it could be not given. And we were out for a hand against Tottenham in the quarter-finals against Llorente that was not given. That is why this competition depends on these situations. But the way we played in the last three minutes of the first half and the second half was brilliant. We passed the ball and we passed the ball and we did it.”
Ilkay Gundogan: “It means a lot to be honest,” he tells BT Sport. “I think we deserve it. We are grateful for being still in a great competition, reaching the semi-finals for the first time with this team. Obviously we are very happy about it.”
On the fightback: “Today was once again about showing character. I think we didn’t play well at all in the first 15 minutes. We struggled, we were not brave enough. We were a bit scared to lose something; I think that was quite obvious. After conceding, we started to get better into the game. We were able to hold more possession, to keep the ball, create a couple of good chances in the first half.
“Our target at half-time was to come back into the game and score the first goal in the second half. We wanted to get the game back into our hands and that’s exactly what we did.”
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The match in summary: Jude Bellingham put the cat among the pigeons with his fine goal after 15 minutes and it jolted Manchester City like a cattle-prod. They were scarted and a frantic half-hour ensued, with Dortmund doing extremely well to hold firm until half-time in the face of an onslaught.
Their resistance would ultimately prove futile, with Emre Can being penalised – possibly harshly, it’s difficult to tell – for a handball inside his own penalty area not long after the break. Riyad Mahrez dispatched the penalty, confirmed after a long VAR consultation and from then on there was only ever going to be one winner. Phil Foden put the tie bey0ond Dortmund swith a fine strike that went in off a post to send his side into the last four. The best team won, of that there is no doubt.
Meanwhile at Anfield: It’s finished scoreless between Real Madrid and Liverpool, which means the Spanish side goes through to the semi-final on the back of their 3-1 home win. I don’t know much of what happened there, but I did see Mo Salah miss an absolute sitter for Liverpool very early doors.
Full-time: Borussia Dortmund 1-2 Man City (Agg: 2-4)
Peep! Peep! Peep! It’s all over in Germany, where Manchester City have advanced to the semi-finals of the Champions League. They were deserved winners against a Dortmund side who did their best only to discover to nobody’s great surprise that it wasn’t quite good enough.
90+1 min: Into added time we go, with City looking forward to the final whistle and a semi-final against Paris Saint-Germain. About to eliminate Liverpool at Anfield, Real Madrid will meet Chelsea in the other one.
Two teams owned by tyrannies for the purposes of sportswashing, one controlled by a Russian oligarch and another the club of Franco. And to think some say romance is dead, eh?
89 min: City substitution: Raheem Sterling on for Riyad Mahrez.
87 min: City break upfield with a three-on-one but Foden’s pass to Mahrez is poorly timed and allows Akanji to intervene.
84 min: Dortmund keep plugging away even though this season’s Champions League jig is well and truly up. You can’t fault them for effort and desire, unlike Porto in their match against Chelsea last night, but City have just been too good for them.
81 min: Zinchenko sends a thunderbolt goalwards, hitting the ball so hard it really caught Marwin Hitz unawares. The goalkeeper gets in front of it and keeps it out but didn’t seem to know much about it.
80 min: Dortmund double-substitution: Stefan Tigges and Julian Brandt on for Mateu Morey and the outstanding Jude Bellingham.
79 min: Dortmund substitution just before Foden’s goal: Thorgan Hazard on, Mahmoud Dahoud off.
78 min: Dortmund now need three goals.
GOAL! Borussia Dortmund 1-2 Manchester City (Foden 75) (Agg: 2-4)
Phil Foden scores! It’s all over bar the shouting as Foden increases City’s lead. From the corner, the ball was played to him unmarked on the edge of the Dortmund penalty area. He unleashed a left-footed drive that went in off the right upright. Dortmund hearts are smithereened.
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74 min: Kevin De Bruyne slightly scuffs a low drive after cutting in on his right foot. Marwin Hitz gets down to save.
72 min: Tiredness is setting in amongst both sets of players, as it had to. They couldn’t keep going at that pace. There’s still plenty of time for Dortmund to find an equaliser.
67 min: Bernardo Silva is penalised for a foul on Bellingham wide on the left, halfway inside the City half. Reus plays the ball into the penalty area, where Mats Hummels sends a header just over the bar. Dortmund substitution: Gio Reyna on for Ansgar Knauff.
63 min: Gundogan shoots low, hard and wide of the upright from a couple of yards outside the Dortmund penalty area.
63 min: Ilkay Gundogan gets a telling-off from referee Carlos Del Cerro Grande after shoving Bellingham twice in the chest as they debated something off the ball. I’m not sure what that was all about.
62 min: Dortmund have looked a little shell-shocked since that City goal, their secvond half plans now in tatters. They need a goal. Down near the corner flag Marco Reus shoves an in-possession Kyle Walker in the back directly in front of the linesman, who is standing about two feet away. He doesn’t signal for a free-kick, which seems odd.
58 min: From inside the Dortmund penalty area, Kevin De Bruyne slashes a wild shot wide under pressure from Reus, who had shoved him in the back a yard or two outside the penalty area causing him to lose his balance. City get a corner, but nothing comes of it.
56 min: Debate will rumble on over whether or not that penalty should have been given. The only man whose opinion matters awarded it and now the advantage is with City, who lead by the odd goal of five over the two games.
GOAL! Borussia Dortmund 1-1 Man City (Mahrez 55pen) (Agg: 2-3)
The penalty stands and Riyad Mahrez scores. He fires to the goalkeeper’s left and ripples the back of the net.
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53 min: The VAR consultation goes on ... the ball definitely hit his head first but his arm was outstrectched.
PENALTY FOR CITY!
Emre Can heads the ball onto his own outstretched arm while leaning down to block a cross. Will it be overturned by VAR?
51 min: Hitz stretches to tip a Zinchenko shot-cross over the bar. Another corner for City. Nothing comes from the set-piece.
49 min: A Rodri cross from the right is headed clear by Mats Hummels.
48 min: City win a corner, which De Bruyne takes. From that inswinger they win another. Emre Can heads this one clear at the near post.
47 min: Kevin De Bruyne is dragged back by Mateu Moray as he tries to canter down the left flank. The ref blows for a foul but keeps his yellow card in his pocket. De Bruyne demands he give the Dortmund right-back a yellow, but the referee is not for turning. That is one side – the only side – of De Bruyne’s game I really don’t like. No doubt he’ll be devastated to learn that news.
Second half: Borussia Dortmund 1-0 Man City (Agg: 2-2)
46 min: Manchester City kick off, knowing they have to score to avoid the embarrassment – and it would be an embarrassment – of going out at this stage of the Champions League again. They also need to avoid coneding another goal on the break against one of the most lethal finishers in world football as they go in search of that goal. Fasten your seatbelts.
Half-time: Borussia Dortmiund 1-0 Man City (Agg: 2-2)
Peep! There’s scarcely a second of added time at the end of a first half that got off to a slow enough start but has been played at an absolute breakneck speed since Jude Bellingham put his side one up on the night and ahead on away goals across the tie.
Manchester City have fought back with terrific energy and determination, but Dortmund have defended extremely doggedly. Things are very nicely poised indeed for what could be a thrilling second half.
45 min: Akanji intercepts a looped ball over the top towards Foden with his head and clears.
43 min: Mateu Moray leathers a bouncing ball as far as he can down the pitch as Dortmund try to weather the City storm until the half-time whistle, at which point they’ll be able to have a breather and regroup.
42 min: A long range effort from Dahoud is blocked close to the source, smashing into the back of John Stones’s legs.
39 min: Jude Bellingham is booked for a rather robust challenge on Phil Foden. He’s having quite the eventful evening, is the youngster who shares his name with the patron saint of lost causes. He clearly didn’t think this tie was a lost cause when he laced up his boots tonight and is doing everything in his power to ensure his team wins it.
37 min: Mateu Morey puts the ball out for another City corner. It’s taken and a Zinchenko header doesn’t trouble Hitz unduly. Call me greedy but a second goal for Dortmund would really set this tie up for a potentially thrilling second half but only one team is looking like scoring next and it’s not the home side.
36 min: Gundogan tries to bulldoze his way through the Dortmund penalty area but meets a yellow wall of resistance as he tries to lay the ball off the Foden.
33 min: After a fairly uneventful start, we are now in the realms of the incredibly tense, the breathless and the frantic. It’s difficult to see City not scoring. They are huffing and puffing like the big bad wolf but Dortmund’s house remains intact and standing for the time being. Kevin De Bruyne is playing like a man possessed.
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32 min: Dortmund goalkeeper Hitz is beaten by a Mahrez shot from close range but Jude Bellingham clears the ball off the line.
31 min: Zinchenko whips a cross into the Dortmund penalty area from the left. It’s cleared. CIty are ramping up the pressure on their hosts.
29 min: Free-kick for City, on the left side of the Dortmund penalty area. Kevin De Bruyne tries to whip it goalwards but Marcus Reus gets in front of the ball to head it out for a corner. Nothing comes of the set piece.
28 min: Bellingham goes down holding the back of his head after shipping an accidental elbow from Gundogan.
25 min: Kevin De Bruyne absolutely smashes the ball off the cross-bar after stealing it off the toe of Morey, who had miscontrolled it. It bounces for Bernardo Silva, who heads it wide with Dortmund golkeeper Marwin Hitz totally out of commission and the goal gaping.
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24 min: City corner. Mahrez aims for Foden and the ball breaks to Kyle Walker, who attempts to score from a ludicrously long way out. It’s way off target.
22 min: Not too long after Bellingham’s goal, Akanji headed straight at Ederson. City are rattled ... those doubts will inevitably start creeping in. Remember, they’ve never advanced any further than this stage of the Champions League under Pep Guardiola. Their record of overturning opposition leads doesn’t stand up to too much scrutiny either.
20 min: Back to the goal. John Stones was caught out by the flight of the ball and it dropped for Erling Haaland near the byline with his back to goal. He held it up, waiting for support and pulled it back to Bellingham, via a deflection off Dias. The youngster from Stourbridge moved the ball on to his right foot and curled the ball past Ederson into the top corner from about 18 or 20 yards out.
18 min: Well, well, well. Dortmund are in front on the night and lead on away goals. Marco Reus tries to put them two up, but his shot is deflected out by a vital touch for a corner. It’s taken and Kevin De Bruyne gallops upfield on the counter, but Dortmund get the numbers back to avert any danger.
GOAL! Borussia Dortmund 1-0 Manchester City (Agg: 2-2) (Bellingham 15)
There’s a break in play now! Jude Bellingham curls Dortmund into the lead with a fine strike after good hold-up play from Erling Haaland.
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13 min: Both teams enjoy spells of possession without either creating anything even remotely resembling a chance or shot on goal. It’s more hypnotic than scrappy - there hasn’t been a break in play for two or three minutes.
10 min: Now it’s Ederson’s turn to put his foot through the ball, despatching a Zinchenko back pass into the stand under pressure from Haaland.
8 min: Dortmund goalkeeper Marwin Hitz lumps the ball long, hammering a backpass from Morey first time.
7 min: Mahmoud Dahoud takes the first shot in anger for Dortmund, unleashing a rasping effort from outside the Manchester City penalty area but firing straight at Ederson.
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5 min: Dortmund try to break forward but Jude Bellingham cedes possession with a loose pass.
4 min: Ilkay Gundogan, formerly of Dortmund’s parish, wins the ball from Mateu Morey and City resume control of possession. They are barely giving their hosts a sniff in these early stages.
3 min: Manchester City pass the ball hither and yon, mostly around the middle third of the pitch. Kyle Walker picks the ball up out by the right touchline, before playing it back inside to John Stones.
Borussia Dortmund v Manchester City is go!
1 min: Dortmund get the ball rolling in Germany, their players wearing yellow shirts, black shorts and yellow socks. Manchester City are in the kit with which they are most readily associated: light blue shirts, white shorts and light blue socks. Game on!
Not long now: The teams are out on the pitch and the last of the pre-match formalities are under way. Kick-off is just a couple of minutes away.
Pep Guardiola speaks: “To get to the finals you have to go for it,” he tells BT Sport. “It doesn’t matter what the result is in the first leg. We are not used to just defending a result. During this stage of the competition you don’t have the same games and the same patterns, there are ups and downs. Every player knows the score, every player knows how many minutes are left and you have to control the emotions. The best weay is concentrating on what you have to do, not the consequence of the result.”
Edin Terzic speaks: “Jude is an exceptional talent and a great lad, so we are very proud that he is with us,” says Dortmund’s interim manager in an interview with BT Sport, when asked about the development of a certain Master Bellingham. “He’s playing regularly for us, on this stage and in the Champions League and the Bundesliga and it’s something special if a boy who is 17 years of age is playing on this level every three days. He played first team football last season in England so he prepared himself for this kind of game. We are happy that he is with us.”
On Erling Haaland’s six-game goal ‘drought’: “I won’t tell you in detail what I say to my players but we are not only happy if he scores, we are also happy if he works for the team. He did well in Manchester and he also did quite well in the other games where he hasn’t scored. He’s known as a striker who scores a lot, he scores for fun basically, and this is the reason why there are so many rumours about him.
“He also likes to run in behind and this is needed for tonight. Also he has improved a lot in the last few games in the way he shielded the ball for us. We want him to gain us some metres and some seconds, this is key for tonight ... that he keeps the ball for two or three seconds so the others can get up and support him. But of course, we son’t be unhappy if he scores tonight.”
Borussia Dortmund v Manchester City line-ups
Borussia Dortmund: Hitz, Morey, Akanji, Hummels, Guerreiro, Emre Can, Dahoud, Bellingham, Reus, Knauff, Haaland.
Manchester City: Ederson, Walker, Stones, Dias, Zinchenko, Rodri, Gundogan, De Bruyne, Mahrez, Foden, Bernardo.
Team news ...
Pep makes one change from the City team that won in the first leg. Oleksandr Zinchenko steps up in place of Joao Cancelo at left back.
Borussia Dortmund field the same side that started against City in Manchester last week. Despite concerns about their fitness, both Marco Reus and Mats Hummels start.
A sombre anniversary
It was four years ago this week that Borussia Dortmiund’s players were the victims of a targeted attack, when three explosive devices were detonated beside their team bus as it transported them to their stadium for a match against Monaco.
Mercifully, just one player, Marc Bartra, was injured in the attack. Now at Real Betis, the Spanish defender had to go undergo surgery for lacerations to his hand caused by broken glass from the bus windows.
The following November, a 29-year-old Russian-German electrician named in court only as Sergej W, in line with German privacy laws, was sentenced to 14 years in the Big House after being found guilty of 28 counts of attempted murder.
Edin Terzic has his say
“Erling Haaland was an extremely important factor for us in the last few games, even if he didn’t score,” said Dortmund’s manager, upon being asked about his star striker’s barren spell in front of goal. “He’s always running and binds players. As a team, we of course hope that he scores again soon.”
On Jude Bellingham: “The development of Jude Bellingham does not surprise anyone here,” he said. “We see how he trains and works. He’s a great talent and a fantastic player, but above all he’s young. We support him everywhere and try to develop him in the best possible way.”
Pep Guardiola's pre-match thoughts
“We have to try and execute our plan,” he told reporters. “It doesn’t matter what happens in the first leg, you have a chance in the second. Our idea is to go there and do as best as possible and let them feel we are not going to defend what we got here. We want to impose our game to win the game.
“We are already the first [team] qualified for [next season’s] Champions League. So now, 11 years in a row we will be in the Champions League. No team in the Premier League has ever done 11 in a row, that is fantastic. For sure, nobody will give it to us – we have to do it.”
Tonight’s match officials
- Referee: Carlos del Cerro Grande
- Assistant referees: Juan Carlos Yuste and Roberto Alonso
- Fourth official: José María Sánchez
- Video Assistant Referee: Juan Martínez Munuera
Early team news
Sergio Aguero has picked up another injury and missed out on the trip to Germany, while Aymeric Laporte is back in training after missing Saturday’s defeat at the hands of Leeds but may not be sufficiently recovered to play any role tonight.
For Dortmund, Jadon Sancho, Axel Witsel, Dan Axel-Zagadou and Marcel Scmelzer are all sidelined, while Mats Hummels and Marco Reus were to be assessed ahead of kick-off after picking up knocks. Without a goal in his past six games for club and country, Erling Haaland will start up front.
Champions League: Borussia Dortmund v Manchester City (Agg: 1-2)
There’s a place in the last four up for grabs and Manchester City are in the box-seat to get it following their first leg win by the odd goal of three at the Etihad Stadium. Left to rue a Jude Bellingham shot into an empty goal cancelled out by a premature whistle from the referee, Dortmund were a little hard done by.
They do, however, have an away goal to show for their efforts in Manchester and can go into tonight’s game safe in the knowledge they are capable of giving City a decent game. Kick-off at the BVB Stadion is at 8pm (BST) but stay tuned in the meantime for team news and build-up.
