Erling Håland's Johan Cruyff-esque wondergoal helps Manchester City come back from behind to break former employers Borussia Dortmund's heart with 2-1 win in Champions League..

2022-09-15 15:54

Erling Håland



All because of a wonder strike from the Black and Yellows' former hero before the end of the game, Borussia Dortmund's away game against Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium in the second matchday of the 2022/23 Champions League Group Stage with a ended in despair after the tie was reversed to 2-1 in favour of the Cityzens. 


The two sides immediately begin attacking each other fiercely after the game started. In the first half, both side's most dangerous attacks came from Salih Özcan and João Cancelo respectively, but both of their long-range efforts were fruitless. In the second half, Dortmund captain Marco Reus dribbled past former team-mate Manuel Akanji and fired a shot from a difficult angle but the ball was just wide of the post. It wasn't long before he provided a beautiful through ball to Jude Bellingham who headed into the next and gave the Black and Yellows a head start. Subsequently, Manchester City counterattacked, and Erling Håland's movements caused a few headaches for the opposition's back line who had only just manage to scrape away. However, just when eveyone thought that the Cityzens would be helpless against the opponents' resilience, John Stones blasted in a wondergoal from distance out of the blue, opening the door for the Premier League giants to have a possible comeback. After that, Håland's one-footed sensational half-volley shot breaks his former employers' heart. Before the end of the game, Donyell Malen tried to force the game into a tie by dribbling past a few men into the box before firing a shot, but the ball unfortunately sailed slightly just passed the post. In the end, Manchester City come back from behind to win 2-1 against their opponents, thereby welcoming their successive victories. Manchester City currently tops the table with 6 points; Dortmund is second with 3 points.


First Half


In the 16th minute, Raphaël Guerreiro's through ball found Özcan who quickly followed up and adjusted before taking a long shot with his right foot from outside the penalty area, but the ball was easily gathered by Ederson. 10 minutes later, Cancelo took a few steps and took a long shot with his right foot from outside the penalty area after receiving a return from Jack Grealish, but the ball flew over the bar. In the 33rd minute, İlkay Gündoğan's through ball from the left wing was quickly picked up by Grealish who dribbled the ball into the edge of the left byline in the box and then volleyed with his right foot, but the ball was blocked out for a corner by Bellingham. Both two sides were unable to make any noteworthy attempts until the end of the first half after that.


Second Half


After switching sides, Dortmund made a quick counterattack in the 52nd minute, Özcan's through ball from the left wing found Marco Reus who succesfully beaten the offside trap and then dribbled into the left side of the box past Akanji, before volleying with his right foot from a difficult angle, but the ball slightly just missed the right post.


4 minutes later, Dortmund got a corner. Giovanni Reyna crosses the ball into the box from the corner, Özcan headed pass the ball to Reus who stopped the ball and then sent in a diagonal through ball to an unmarked Jude Bellingham who quickly followed up and headed into in the center of box. Dortmund broke the deadlock and took a 1-0 lead first!


In the 66th minute, Kevin De Bruyne's through ball from the right wing found Håland who had successfully beaten the offside trap, then dribbled into the right side of the box before firing a right-foored shot across an outrushing Alexander Meyer, but the ball just slightly missed the right post. In the 69th and 72nd minutes, Stones and Phil Foden both tried to cross into the box from the right and left wings respectively, but their attempts were dealt with by Niklas Süle and Mats Hummels who made a last ditch tackling block before Håland could reach the ball.


In the 80th minute, John Stones quickly stopped the ball and then unleashes a long-range powerful world-class shot into the net with his right foot from outside the box after receiving Kevin De Bruyne's pass from the right wing. Manchester City thus tied the game to 1-1!


3 minutes later, Cancelo's diagonal throguh ball pass from the left wing found Erling Håland who successfully beaten the offside trap, rose high and the pushes the ball into the net from the right of the box with a sublimte right-footed half-volley in mid-air, essentially turning it into a wondergoal. Manchester City quickly turned tides and lead 2-1!


It is worth mentioning that the former Black and Yellows star, who was reluctant to celebrate after scoring out of respect for his old club, scored in a way that resembled the late Dutch legend Johan Cruyff. It was the wonderkid's 13th goal in all competitions in a month after joining Manchester City this summer, and also his 26th goal in 21 Champions League games. His terrifying goal efficiency is just self-evident!


In the 3rd minute of stoppage time, Guerreiro made a through ball from the left wing. Malen quickly followed up, dribbled and cut past several defenders into the left side of the box before volleying with his right foot, but the ball went slightly just wide of the left post, the Bundesliga giants would no doubt regret to miss such golden opportunity to force their opponents into a draw!


The whole game ended with Manchester City coming back from behind to beat Dortmund 2-1, showing their true characters as a King.