Hans-Joachim Watzke had feared that things could go wrong again against Manchester City. So Borussia Dortmund’s football boss gave the opposing coach Pep Guardiola a friendly request before the game as a precaution and with a wink. “I told him: no matter what happens here today, they should go a step further against Sevilla next week,” reported Watzke with a smile on Amazon Prime.
But it doesn’t get that far now. City don’t have to add anything next week. Fortunately, Dortmund is no longer dependent on Guardiola’s support on the final group match day of the Champions League in Copenhagen: BVB already has a 0-0 draw against Manchester City on Tuesday evening, to which goalkeeper Gregor Kobel saved a penalty kick against Mahrez in the 57th minute reached the round of 16 of the Champions League on the penultimate matchday – for the first time since spring 2021, when Sevilla were knocked out and then failed in the quarterfinals at ManCity.
Dortmund played with Mats Hummels and Nico Schlotterbeck in central defense and Niklas Süle on the right flank. At left wing attacker Thorgan Hazard had to fill in for the injured Raphael Guerreiro. Emre Can, Jude Bellingham and Julian Brandt (replacing the suspended Salih Özcan) formed a three-man vanguard in front of the defence. Before that, Karim Adeyemi, 20, Youssoufa Moukoko, 17, and Giovanni Reyna, 19, formed a cheerful children’s bar.
Youngsters play up front at BVB against City
Dortmund rarely had the object of desire. The Citizens demonstrated the art of possession without initially endangering Borussia. The more dangerous goal approaches initially had the counterattacking Borussia. The stadium roared when Moukoko shot just wide in the 36th minute. City’s goalkeeper was lucky.
Keeper Stefan Ortega surprisingly made his debut for Manchester in goal for the Brits – he is 29, a native of Hesse and was with Arminia Bielefeld for a total of twelve years until last summer, for whom he also stood in goal when he was last on March 13th played with Arminia in Dortmund. Relegated Arminia Bielefeld is now penultimate in the second division – Ortega plays Champions League, at least this time as an exception.
City striker Erling Haaland did not have a single scene in the first half, and the former Dortmund player did not return to the pitch in the second half. After the break, Manuel Akanji came for the Brits – after all, another ex-Borussian. However, his job was not to score goals, but to prevent them. And he did it well.
The Citizens only got their first real shot on goal in the 58th minute. It was a penalty kick. In the 57th minute, Can had tripped Riyad Mahrez in the penalty area, the fouled shot himself, but failed at BVB goalkeeper Gregor Kobel, who also got good work from then on.
In the last quarter of an hour, ten Dortmund field players defended in their own penalty area. It was no longer about heel-toe-one-two-three or sexy football – it was really all about the round of 16 now. And that’s exactly what they achieved.