Manchester City 1 - 1 Borussia Dortmund: BVB Outperform City but Leave with just a Draw

Borussia Dortmund will be travelling back to Germany wondering how they didn't leave with three points, as they put up a great performance at the Etihad to leave with just one point. The Bundesliga-winning side worked tirelessly to nullify City's threat as Mancini's side played like the away team in this Champions League fixture.

Both sides lined up in expected formations, with Dortmund in the 4-2-3-1 which has served them well in the past seasons under Klopp, whilst the home side set out in their 4-4-2 that they frequently use.


Nastasic again partnered Vincent Kompany in defence as they alongside Clichy and Zabaleta made up the back four, which was covered by Toure and Javi Garcia. The two flanks accommodated the creative sparks Silva (on the right) and Nasri who were lead by Aguero and Dzeko up front, with Tevez on the bench.

Mats Hummels and Neven Subotic were flanked by Schmelzer and Piszczek to make up the bank of four who looked to protect Weidenfeller in net. In front of the defence were Gundogan and Bender who curtailed the creativity of City's midfield greatly. Ahead of the two holding midfielders were Marco Reus, Mario Gotze and Kuba Blaszczkowski (left to right). This trio worked well throughout the match in both defensive and attacking work as the wide men were against Silva and Nasri, whilst Gotze tested Hart on numerous occasions, forcing the England keeper to pull off some great saves to keep his side in the match. Robert Lewandowski was the front man of the Dortmund side, and the Polish striker missed a great chance which would've given the German's the three points

FIRST HALF

 

Dortmund Contain City Whilst Attack with Threat

Prior to the match it was said that Dortmund had come to the Etihad with a plan, and it worked to great effect throughout the match, as Die Schwarzgelben nullified City's creativity in midfield, whilst always looking like scoring on the attack, as they hit the woodwork on numerous occasions throughout the first 45 minutes. Klopp's men contained the midfield which accommodated creative talents David Silva and Samir Nasri by stopping their two holding midfielders advance the ball onwards towards the attack and midfield. Dortmund's 4-2-3-1 outnumbered the 4-4-2 of City in the midfield area, this allowed the two German holding midfielders (Gundogan and Bender) to quickly press up field without many consequences in the centre of the pitch, almost simultaneous with the ball coming into the City midfield, the away side's central players pressed quickly, forcing Toure and Garcia to pass the ball back to their centre backs.


The quick and fluid passing that Die Borussen are known for was on show as they counter-attacked often after winning the ball through their tight and compact midfield. The German midfielder Ilker Gundogan was often the playmaker of these attacks, as he received the ball often and sprayed passes to wide men Reus and Kuba (Blaszczykowski) who both used their pace to expose the City defence who have conceded frequently this season. Kompany and his teammates in defence have Joe Hart to thank as the England goalkeeper kept City in the game, producing great saves to keep out the Dortmund attack, predominantly the starlet Mario Gotze.

Aguero finds Space Behind Dortmund line

The last sentence of the previous paragraph can also be applicable towards Weidenfeller's performance in Die Borussen's goal. The German side were susceptible to balls behind the defence, which left a lot of space between them and the keeper as they pressed highly to stop City moving forward. The aforementioned space was then taken advantage by Sergio Aguero, who used his pace to get into one-on-one situations. Edin Dzeko, the other City forward, attempted to do the same as his Argentinian teammate however he lacked the pace to do so and was caught offside by Hummels and Co on a few occasions.

SECOND HALF

 

City Switch to a 3-5-2 with Kolarov on but Revert to 4 Man Defence after Goal

This tactical switch was also seen when City played at the Bernabeu. With the introduction of Kolarov for Samir Nasri, Mancini switched to a 3-5-2 with Clichy again tucking in to make a trio of him, Kompany and Nastasic. This bank of 3 was quickly undone however after tricky Dortmund forward Marco Reus capitalised on a mistake from Jack Rodwell. Shortly after this goal, the static defence was undone again by the German footballer of the year, who's inside runs penetrated the 3 City defenders to force Hart into another fine save. This close call alerted the Italian manager who then reconstituted the 4 at the back, with Kolarov moving into the left wing position.

 

 

Dortmund Maintain Compact Midfield

Klopp carried on the plan mentioned prior to the match and denied the City midfielders time on the ball, which curtailed Toure's influence on the match as he rarely found space amongst the Dortmund players. The home side weren't threatening at all throughout the match, less so in the second than the first and the midfield battle had a big impact on this, as City found it difficult to progress the ball from defence to attack.

City Lack Passion Against a Fierce Dortmund Side

A topic that Mancini addressed in the post match interview was the lack of desire from his side as they were second best for all of the 90 minutes to the passionate and hard working Dortmund. Key men such as Yaya Toure looked lethargic against the fiery Gundogan and Bender, as the Ivorian was uncharacteristically behind the play more than he was with it. It wasn't just Toure however, only a couple of players from the home side performed to a standard worthy of the Champions League.

Despite Die Schwarzgelben's hard work, they left England with just a point as City were awarded a (in my opinion) soft penalty for handball, which Balotelli calmly finished into the bottom corner as Weidenfeller dived the opposite way to give the home side an undeserved point.

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