Erling Haaland’s stunning strike halted Manchester City’s dramatic comeback and condemned former club Borussia Dortmund to a painful Champions League defeat at the Etihad Stadium.
City struggled against a contained Dortmund, who took the lead when the brilliant Jude Bellingham headed home Marco Reus’ cross after 56 minutes.
Pep Guardiola’s side struggled to find motivation and found an equalizer with 10 minutes remaining when defender John Stones fired a powerful shot past Dortmund keeper Alexander Meier.
Inevitably, it was left to Holland to produce a truly special moment four minutes later, showing superb athleticism to rise in the air and score from Joao Cancelo’s cross.
Holland’s magic moment
Holland was kept relatively quiet by his former Dortmund team-mates but the special striker still made a clear, impressive contribution as City came from behind to win.
The young Norwegian was on the sidelines of the game but posted a warning with a shot that hit the outside of the post minutes before scoring.
Stones’ equaliser, struck with plenty of power but little blocked by the oddly static keeper Meyer, turned the tide of a game in which Dortmund’s calm defence, through veteran Mats Hummels and Bellingham left City stretching in midfield. Disappointed.
City suddenly felt a winner but it was still something special when Holland took to the air to meet Cancelo’s cross with his outstretched left foot to deflect the ball past a disbelieving Mayor.
That brought a wide smile to the face of his father, former City midfielder Alf-Inge, who was watching in the stands. She re-enacted the moment but, understandably, without her son’s resilience and beauty.
The goal was Holland’s 13th of the season and his 26th in 21 Champions League games.
City fans rejoiced as it was just the kind of moment the 22-year-old was signed for to decide the big Champions League games that seemed to be slipping away from him.
It means City now have the maximum return from two games and every team in the competition will fear a striker.
Bellingham’s show of class
Bellingham embraced his former Dortmund team-mate Holland, the pain of defeat mixed with a resigned smile at the world-class goal that ended such a fine performance by the Bundesliga side.
It was mutual admiration as Holland must have admired the sheer class of the 19-year-old England midfielder, who was the game’s most important presence until City made a late switch.
Bellingham shows a maturity beyond his years with a perfect range of passing, composure and an eye for a goal as he reacts quicker than the City defenders to dislodge Ederson from Reus’s cross.
Gareth Southgate announced his next England squad on Thursday. Bellingham is now building a growing body of evidence to suggest he should be a starter ahead of Kelvin Phillips, who has barely played since moving to City from Leeds United.
And he was certainly more impressive than the disappointing Jack Grealish, who could have had no complaints when City manager Guardiola tried to bring him back into the game after Dortmund had taken the lead.
