EUROPEAN FOOTBALL

Borussia Dortmund 1-2 Manchester City: Post-Match Analysis

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Pep Guardiola finally ended his quarter-final bad luck in the Champions League with his Manchester City side, as they knocked out Borussia Dortmund to book a place in the Semifinals. City will face the French Champions PSG in the semis of the UEFA Champions League.

Manchester City overcame a resolute Borussia Dortmund side with a full-time score of 2-1. And qualified to the semis with a 4-2 aggregate victory.

Riyad Mahrez and Foden scored the goals for City while the lone goal for Dortmund was scored by Jude Bellingham. The Blue side from Manchester is unbeaten in this season’s Champions League. Now, they go on to face last year’s finalists, PSG.

BORUSSIA DORTMUND 1-2 MANCHESTER CITY TEAM NEWS:

Borussia Dortmund started the match with a 4-3-3 formation. Giovanni Reyna and Thomas Delaney, who started in their 2-3 victory over VfB Stuttgart in Bundesliga were replaced by Ansgar Knauff and Emre Can in the lineup.

Pep Guardiola rested many of his players in their match against Leeds United in the Premier League. The likes of Joao Cancelo, Rahim Sterling, Ferran Torres, Gabriel Jesus, Benjamin Mendy and Fernandinho who started against Leeds made way for Phil Foden, Kevin De Bryune, Ilkay Gundogan, Rodri and Riyad Mahrez.

BORUSSIA DORTMUND 1-2 MANCHESTER CITY POST-MATCH ANALYSIS:

Manchester City came to the second leg with a 2-1 victory in their hand. However, the away goal they conceded came back to haunt them as Jude Bellingham levelled the tie with a goal. The 17-year-old English midfielder raised his value as he finished off a ball that had rebounded from the City defence.

Pep Guardiola’s team kept on piling the pressure with Kevin De Bruyne driving his team forward. However, Dortmund played a low defensive line, keeping most of their players behind the ball. They were able to keep the English side silent by throwing bodies at every shot City took.

However, the resilience was broken when Emre Can become the villain for the Black and Yellows. In his effort to divert a cross coming into the box, Can headed the ball into his raised hands in the penalty box. The decision was subjected to the VAR, and a penalty was awarded. Riyad Mahrez gracefully scored the penalty, taking his shot to his right. Dortmund now had to score a goal to take the match into extra time.

But Phil Foden had another idea, as he gave his manager relief by scoring a thunderous goal from just outside the penalty box. The shot came after Riyad Mahrez and Bernardo Silva worked on a short corner and passed the ball on to the 20-year-old Englishman. Dortmund was forced to attack, but to no avail, as City side moved to the Semifinals.

NOTABLE PERFORMANCES:

Kevin De Bruyne (8/10): The Belgian as always ran the show for City, covering the whole ground. He was driving his team’s attack and was unfortunate not to score. He hit the woodwork multiple times and was denied by the opposition goalkeeper on different occasions.

Phil Foden (8.5/10): Foden was silent in the first half. However, Quality is defined by the ability to perform at a crucial time. And he showed why he is considered as one of the best youngsters out there when he blasted in the second goal for his team.

Jude Bellingham(8.5/10): Bellingham has given Gareth Southgate a real headache by staking his claim for the spot in the upcoming Euros. His performance was outstanding, with the youngster running around the ground and being involved in both the attacking and defending for his team. One has to wonder what would have happened had the referees not disallowed his goal from the first leg,

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