Manchester City reached the semi-finals of the Champions League on Wednesday evening. Pep Guardiola’s men fell behind Borussia Dortmund in the first half, but made up for it in the second half thanks to a penalty from Riyad Mahrez and a shot from Phil Foden: 1-2. After last week’s 2-1 victory in our own stadium, it was more than enough to continue. Paris Saint-Germain is the opponent in the semi-final. It is the first time since the 2015/16 season that Guardiola has reached the last four with City; at the time, Real Madrid was too strong in the semi-final.
As expected, the English took the initiative, but the first opportunity was for Dortmund midfielder Mahmoud Dahoud, who shot over. After fifteen minutes came BVB in the lead. A hard shot from Dahoud was blocked, causing the ball to fall at Jude Bellingham’s feet. He took it and curled the ball towards the intersection, where Ederson’s fingertips were not enough to prevent a goal: 1-0.
Given the score, there was more urgency in Manchester City’s attacking game. The pressure on Dortmund’s goal increased rapidly and danger soon ensued. Kevin De Bruyne shot Mateu Morey after an interception. Moments later, Riyad Mahrez thought he was scoring from close range, but Bellingham slid the ball out of the goal mouth with an extreme effort. A header from Oleksandr Zinchenko could barely be caught by Marwin Hitz.
Seven minutes after the break, Dortmund clumsily conceded a penalty. Emre Can wanted to remove a cross from Phil Foden and headed the ball against his own arm. The penalty was used by Mahrez: 1-1. Three minutes later, a header from John Stones went over Hitz’s fingertips. On the other side, a ball from the head of Mats Hummels from a free kick by Marco Reus landed on the roof of the goal.
The decision was made fifteen minutes before time. Bernardo Silva put a corner kick on the edge of the box ready for Foden. City’s youth product hit hard in the short corner, where Hitz missed: 1-2. Foden ran to the sidelines to jump into the arms of Guardiola, who was delirious with joy. City could have gone even further in the final phase, but Foden killed the dangerous counter with a weak pass on Mahrez.