A back-and-forth match at the Etihad Stadium produced some drama and a few moments of brilliance as Manchester City defeated Borussia Dortmund 2-1 in the first leg of their Champions League quarterfinal on Tuesday.
Kevin De Bruyne and Phil Foden each got on the score sheet for the hosts, while Marco Reus struck late for Dortmund as City needed the full 90 minutes to secure the first-leg victory.
De Bruyne opened the scoring in the 19th minute of a match in which there was little to separate the sides. After Emre Can gave the ball away at midfield, De Bruyne drove at the Dortmund defence for 40 yards before feeding Foden on the left flank. Foden's cross met Riyad Mahrez at the other side of the pitch, but the Belgian continued his run into the box and smashed Mahrez's pass home from six yards out.
Can would nearly wear the goat horns again moments later after he was judged to have upended Rodri inside the penalty area at the half-hour mark. However, Can's blushes were spared as a VAR consultation determined that the penalty was harshly awarded, and City didn't get the chance to double the lead from the spot.
That wasn't the only big call made in the opening half as Dortmund's Jude Bellingham put the ball in the back of the net in the 37th minute after seemingly punishing City 'keeper Ederson for taking too long to clear. Unfortunately for Bellingham, the referee had blown the whistle just as the youngster knocked the ball into the goal — both nullifying the potential equalizer and earning the teenager a yellow card on what appeared to be an erroneous judgment by the official.
Those first-half referee decisions loomed large toward the end of the match as Dortmund finally found a breakthrough six minutes from fulltime. The visitors had been pressing for an equalizer and it was none other than captain Reus who found the leveller in the 84th minute after receiving a feed from Erling Haaland.
With the match seemingly headed toward a stalement, Foden broke Dortmund hearts in stoppage time as he finished off a wonderful bit of play by De Bruyne and Ilkay Gundogan to secure the victory for the hosts.
The teams meet again in Dortmund on April 14 for the second leg.
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