After a scoreless draw with Borussia Dortmund in Germany, Man City has locked up the top spot in Group G of the UEFA Champions League for the 2022–23 season.
Gregor Kobel denied Riyad Mahrez from the penalty spot, preventing him from making it four victories out of five in the competition so far this season.
With one game left, Pep Guardiola’s team leads Dortmund by three points, but we are unable to overcome them due to our head-to-head record following our victory against Dortmund in September. Dortmund will go on in second place thanks to the point as well.
Now that we know we will play the runners-up from another group, we can eagerly anticipate the Round of 16 draw in November.
All night long, the Blues kept the German opposition at bay, hardly needing to use goalkeeper Stefan Ortega Moreno, who was making his debut.
The 3,526 spectators in the away end, who came from 40 different countries and saw no goals, may be satisfied that the difficult group stage is finally through with one game remaining.
THE STORY OF THE GAME
Man City At a jam-packed Westfalenstadion, Dortmund had the first opportunity of the evening, but John Stones stopped Julian Brandt just as the German forward was winding up a shot.
However, Brandt was the one to strike first, sending a 25-yard free kick over Stefan Ortega Moreno’s crossbar.
Karim Adeyemi, who had just cut in from the right, sent a low left-footed drive that the goalkeeper blocked in the 16th minute, forcing Ortega Moreno into action for the first time.
We switched between several formations with three central defenders and Joao Cancelo and Riyad Mahrez spreading into wide areas.
As a result, Phil Foden and Julian Alvarez were able to find some open space behind Erling Haaland, who was making his first return to Dortmund since leaving the team for City.
