Manchester City continue to confound. They appeared to be heading for a night of frustration and a mere draw until the final minute. Then, the misfiring Sergio Agüero won a penalty after being felled by Fabian Johnson. Up the striker sprang to slot past Yann Sommer and Manuel Pellegrini’s team had got out of jail on a major scale.
It meant that despite not performing as they should from front to back – the outstanding Joe Hart apart – they ended with three points and their Group D qualifying campaign is up and running.
The XI Pellegrini fielded was about the only one he could choose. The injuries to Vincent Kompany and Eliaquim Mangala, the first choice centre-backs, meant Nicolás Otamendi and Martín Demichelis were again paired. The captain’s failure to recover was the biggest miss as Kompany had been in imperious form before limping out of the opening group game against Juventus.
Then, a 1-1 score turned into a 2-1 loss and City had again failed to get off to a flying start in the competition. As with last year’s opening match defeat at Bayern Munich, this placed heightened emphasis on the second match. Twelve months ago Pellegrini’s side had drawn with Roma, this time victory was the aim.
This was achieved, but only just. As Hart said: “We always take the scenic route in Europe. We didn’t play well today, we were disjointed as we had been in the last few games. But we deserved to win, we had some really good chances. It may have come late but Sergio Agüero is a cool guy and he will score.”
After Hart’s goal had twice been threatened by balls in behind the defence, City showed the intent Pellegrini promised. Aleksandar Kolarov threaded a pass into Raheem Sterling who in turn squared across Sommer. It found Agüero expertly. Less expert, though, was the striker’s attempt which was hit straight at the keeper as he scrambled along his line.
City can be crisp and slick in their play. They can also be sloppy. Kolarov delivered a corner that illustrated the former. On his return to German soil, Kevin De Bruyne’s air-shot from his delivery illustrated the latter. It was compounded by the Belgian’s slip, which allowed Raffael to launch a counter-attack and the Brazilian raced towards Hart and slipped the ball to Patrick Herrmann, but his effort went wide.
On Saturday Otamendi was part of a defence that conceded four at Tottenham Hotspur. Tonight he conceded an 18th-minute penalty for fouling Raffael, the forward skipping into the area before being brought down. If there was doubt here – Raffael may have waited for the challenge – Clément Turpin, the referee, had none. Otamendi was about to have Hart to thank. The goalkeeper delayed Raffael by taking a drink, and when the Brazilian stepped up, Hart made a fine save diving to his right.
As Borussia Mönchengladbach rued the miss, Hart remained focused. After a corner came to nothing he launched a kick down the right to Agüero. It gave the centre-forward the opportunity to race clear, but for the second time, he spurned his chance.
De Bruyne was the next to miss an opening. He should have continued his run towards goal as Sterling crossed from the left. Instead, the Belgian moved towards Agüero, who was near the penalty spot, and the ball was delivered into the space De Bruyne had vacated.
Hart was City’s best player in the first half, Raffael the home side’s equivalent. As the clock ticked towards the break the keeper made a sharp save from the No11. Then, Raffael waltzed through the City defence, rolled a reverse pass to Hermann, and this time Hart’s stop was even better as he rushed out to narrow the angle.
For the second half Yaya Touré, who had been quiet and was lacking match fitness according to Pellegrini, was replaced by Fernando. The game continued to be the Raffael-Hart show. Seconds after the break the Brazilian was again through on City’s goal and again Hart saved his team.
He was the only member of the rear-guard who was functioning as expected. Borussia seemed able to wander through it at will. There was a corner from which the ball dropped dangerously inside City’s area forcing Fernandinho to desperately charge a shot down.
Finally, André Schubert’s side got the opener they had threatened. Julian Korb was allowed to go unchallenged before he crossed from the right. Further slipshod marking meant Lars Stindl was in yards of space, and this time Hart was given no chance and City were in serious trouble.
Could they respond? Would a difficult month end with another defeat? The answers came within 10 minutes. De Bruyne swung over a corner from the right which struck Demichelis’s knee and appeared to cross the line before being cleared. The officials failed to award a goal but Otamendi did finish via Andreas Christensen – the on-loan Chelsea player adjudged to have scored an own-goal – and City were level and relieved. After Agüero rediscovered his poise at the death from the spot, relief turned to joy.
