The all-star competition “fired” one of them tonight. Erling Haaland could not with Pep Guardiola's Manchester City. Fate would have him cyborg Norwegian crossed his path with his father's team, Alf-Inge Haaland. But before knowing the verdict, the forward desired by all the greats of Europe wanted to have his last dance of the season in what has been his fetish competition (leaves the 2020-21 Champions League being the top scorer with 10 goals). Temperance when entering the Signal Iduna Park and mischievous smile while the anthem that quickens the heartbeat sounded. Ready for Rock and roll.
With the aim of the comeback and return to leave in the lunge to the skyblues, Edin Terzic repeated the same XI (and plan) as in the first leg. Therefore, with the still absence of his best partner (Jadon Sancho), Marco Reus was once again the protagonist to try to cover the absence of the English footballer. The trident was completed, again, by the precocious and surprising Ansgar Knauff. It was in the first minutes when Haaland “went down to the mud” to fight each ball in the defensive phase, leading the pressure. Meanwhile, when it was time to attack, the Norwegian I was the first to go down to receive and help in the exit of leather.
Those attempts paid off in the first quarter of an hour of play. Haaland did what he does best: ran into space to fight a long ball. He won it, he pivoted like a basketball player to find his space and leave him a candy to his Dahoud who was coming in the second line. Precisely, that ball ended up rebounding so that Jude Bellingham, from past the peak of the area, placed the ball with care at the bottom of the goal defended by Ederson. Borussia Dortmund began sending and putting the tie on its face. The City was out. The initial culprit? The android of the goal that, on this occasion, cooked the key play of the goal on a low heat.
SofaScore infographic
Once the can was opened, the ‘black-yellow’ plan remained intact. Therefore, Haaland consolidated his position as the team's buoy, to help out as needed. However, as the minutes passed, City amassed possession and created numerous dangerous chances. This did not mean anything other than the figure of the Norwegian turned almost to be a ghost in attack, hardly scratching the ball (although he registered a 100% success rate in the pass). Yes indeed, defensively, it closed as one more to torpedo the ball circulation of Pep's boys as much as possible. One more pillar of the reinforced concrete wall that formed Borussia.
Foden is huge against Haaland
Neither the rest, nor the requests for maximum revision of Emre Can for his penalty per hand, prevented what was seen to come. And it is that, as the saying goes, “the pitcher goes so much to the source that in the end it breaks.” That happened, with a Mahrez that equalized the game from eleven meters, unbalancing the balance in favor of City. Thus, at cyborg He had no other mission: mark, mark and mark. With Borussia Dortmund eliminated, it took just one goal to force extra time. It was time for Haaland to step forward and dress up as a hero. However, the Norwegian was not having his best night. Since he intervened in the 1-0 play, his participation was in a tailspin. Most of his touches took place outside the rival area, a sign of the extreme vigilance they had on him. The Stones-Dias duo did not leave a minimum respite for the Norwegian, which they hit each time he came into contact with the ball, forcing him to receive further and further.
The minutes continued to pass and Dortmund was in full time trial. The suffocating pressure of City did not let the local team breathe. Neither the entrance of Reyna or Hazard was enough to give a minimum of oxygen. And if it was not enough, In what had to be Haaland's night, as in the first leg, Phil Foden emerged with his own light. If he scored the key 2-1 goal in the final minutes at the Etihad Stadium, the English international was once again the hero. Direct zapatazo to the bottom of Borussia's goal. The cyborg Norwegian said goodbye to the Champions League after a fateful night: He barely touched the ball 25 and did not even shoot on goal (he has already chained seven straight games without scoring). Who knows if it is the last edition with the ‘negriamarilla’ shirt, and if in the near future it is white, azulgrana or the blue of his executioner tonight, City.