Manchester City top Champions League Group G despite being held to a 0-0 draw by Borussia Dortmund at the Signal Iduna Park on Tuesday.
City, who had already confirmed a spot in the last 16 before the match, conceded some good chances but held firm to keep Dortmund at bay before Riyad Mahrez missed from the penalty spot shortly after half-time. City, on 11 points, have won the group with Dortmund in second, on eight points joining City in the knockout stages.
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“We finally rewarded ourselves against City with the point today,” Dortmund coach Edin Terzic said. “We played a really good first half. I have seldom seen a City game where they had so few chances.”
Dortmund, buoyed by their boisterous home support, forced City into some uncharacteristically sloppy moments in the first half — the Bundesliga side offering a tangible threat to the Premier League champions.
Karim Adeyemi orchestrated much of Dortmund’s dangerous play — their best chance came when he teed up Youssoufa Moukoko, but the 17-year-old skewed a poor finish off target.
Pep Guardiola opted to substitute the in-form Erling Haaland, who was visiting his former club, at half-time after a quieter-than-usual first half. Guardiola said the forward was unwell had been unwell before the match.
Both sides displayed good attacking moments, but City were gifted the golden chance to open the scoring 12 minutes after half-time when they were awarded a penalty for Emre Can‘s clumsy challenge on Mahrez.
Mahrez stepped up and had his chipped penalty fantastically saved by Gregor Kobel to keep the game goalless, the Algerian missing a third penalty from his last five.
“We played much better in the second half. In the first half we conceded some balls and lost some counter-attacks,” Guardiola said.
“Since I’ve been here we’ve missed 24 or 25 penalties — it’s too many. You always have to admire the courage, but missing so many penalties is a problem. We have to improve.
“It comes down to fine margins in this competition and these situations can make the difference.”
The solitary point suited both sides, with City sitting at the top of Group G while Dortmund are three points above third-placed Sevilla with a vastly superior goal difference.
