In the Zone: Man City 2-1 Dortmund performance analysis

Manchester City's comeback victory over Borussia Dortmund on Matchday 2 was ultimately the product of a magnificent goal by Erling Haaland against his former club.

Yet in this analysis article brought to you by FedEx, the UEFA Technical Observers' panel highlight an eye-catching aspect of their team play – the clever rotations to open up space, including in the lead-up to Haaland's winning strike in Wednesday's Group C contest.

Goals

0-1: Jude Bellingham (56)

After a Giovanni Reyna corner was headed out to the far corner of the box, Marco Reus lifted the ball back towards the five-metre box and the English teenager perfectly timed his run to meet it and nod the ball past Ederson for his second goal of the group stage.

1-1: John Stones (80)

Deputising for the injured Kyle Walker, Stones brought City level with his first UEFA Champions League goal for almost five years. City switched the play from left to right and, before Dortmund could close down the space fully, Kevin De Bruyne slipped a pass infield to Stones who had time to take a touch and set the ball up nicely for him to unleash a shot from outside the box which flew past Alexander Meyer at the near post.

2-1: Erling Haaland (84)

The Champions League's Goal of the Week, this was Haaland's 13th in his ninth City appearance and his best yet – an exceptional airborne strike which drew comparisons with a famous Johan Cruyff volley for Barcelona back in the 1970s. The outside-of-the-ball cross from João Cancelo was fabulous. What followed was sensational. Finding the space between two defenders, Haaland rose off the ground like Bruce Lee in football boots and somehow hooked the ball home with the outside of his near (left) foot.

Player of the Match: Kevin De Bruyne

The City captain was named the Player of the Match by UEFA's match observer, who said: "Even when City had problems trying to get through the excellent Dortmund defence, he always tried some passes to his team-mates and he never stopped working hard. He showed a great approach and got an assist for the first goal too."

Team formations

Man City

City's 4-3-3- formation

The home side set up in a 4-3-3 and their back line included a centre-back, Manuel Akanji (25), making his second City appearance against the club he left in the summer. With Nathan Aké (6) partnering Akanji, Stones (5) played at right-back with Cancelo (7) at left-back; the two full-backs supported the attacking play not by going up the wings but inside the pitch.

In midfield, Rodri (16) in the pivot role was always ready to receive the ball and move it on. İlkay Gündoğan (8), another Dortmund old boy, was the link between midfield and attack while De Bruyne (17) had the freedom to create and cross the ball. As for the front three, wingers Riyad Mahrez (26) and Jack Grealish (10) played close to the touchline while Haaland (9) operated between the Dortmund central defenders.

City's performance improved after a triple substitution in the 58th minute which brought more mobility to their offensive work. Phil Foden (47), Bernardo Silva (20) and Julián Álvarez (19) took the places of Grealish, Gündoğan and Mahrez, and City began to dominate on the left in particular, with Foden combining with Cancelo. In the closing stages, the wingers stepped inside more to open space out wide for other players.

Dortmund

Dortmund were pushed back into a 4-5-1 formation

The visitors lined up in a 4-3-3 which became a 4-5-1 when they defended. Centre-backs Niklas Süle (15) and Mats Hummels (25) did not shift from their positions for almost the entire match while holding midfielder Emre Can (23) would drop between this pair to help build from the back in the face of City’s high pressing. The other midfielders, Bellingham (22) and Salih Özcan (6), had more attacking roles but still performed significant jobs defensively.

The formation above shows Dortmund with a midfield five without the ball. Bellingham and Özcan earned praised from the UEFA observer for their efforts to help cover space in front of and between their central-backs and full-backs – pivotal because of City's many rotations in this area.

As for the Dortmund forwards, Anthony Modeste (20) led the line as the central striker, Reyna (7) played on the right wing, and Reus (11) operated more as a free player who was involved in most of their best attacks.

By the final whistle, Edin Terzić's men were in a 5-4-1 following the introduction of a third centre-back, Nico Schlotterbeck, after 77 minutes.

Features

A key feature of City's performance was their rotations on both sides with the aim of creating space. Full-backs Cancelo and Stones moved high and inside as the players around them moved out wide or dropped deeper.

The video above offers examples of their rotations and in the first clip you see Mahrez drop back while De Bruyne moves into the space he has vacated and Stones attempts a forward run behind the defensive line.

The second clip comes shortly after the introduction of Foden and Bernardo Silva and shows a perfectly synchronised 'triangle' with Cancelo making a run upfield at the same time as Foden comes in from the left and Bernardo Silva drops out to the wing. The same trio are involved in the winning goal, as the third clip highlights.

Cancelo's lovely ball for that winner underlined his importance on a night he made made more passes into the attacking third (33) than any other player in the Champions League this week and was fundamental to City's work on the left side of the pitch.

For Dortmund the late twist was a harsh outcome given their defensive organisation and discipline. Centre-backs Hummels and Süle were solid in the air, and on the ground Dortmund covered the spaces well and worked hard to stop City getting the better of one v one situations. From an offensive perspective, they threatened more than once on their fast transitions to attack – notably in the 52nd minute when Reus looked poised to cap a flowing counter, stepping inside Akanji but shooting wide with only Ederson to beat.

By contrast, in the view of UEFA's match observer, City's build-up play was too slow and predictable in the first period. The pivotal moment was the triple substitution just before the hour which "changed the rhythm" according to Pep Guardiola – and ensured Dortmund would go home empty-handed. Thanks in no small part to the visitors' defensive rigour, City had 12 shots but seven blocked and only three on target. Their xG read 0.97. Yet individual brilliance ensured they still ended the night with two goals.

Coaches' assessments

Pep Guardiola, Man City coach: "We played in the wrong gear today. No aggression, we were passive. The moment we changed the rhythm with Phil, Bernardo and Julián, we changed our pace and scored two excellent goals. We weren't good enough today. At the same time it's always good to have that resilience. Having Julián and Erling in the box, having that alternative, it works."

Edin Terzić, Dortmund coach: "It's the third time we've produced a great performance against them and the third time we're going home empty-handed. It's tough to accept because the lads deserved at least a point tonight, especially when you're leading so close to the final whistle. But you just see the quality they have in moments like that. I'm not sure how many goals Stones scores from that type of position. Late on they doubled up on the wings which was a huge compliment for us actually. At the end of the day though it comes down to the quality they possess, which made the difference tonight."