The final whistle was celebrated with a sigh of relief, hugs and handshakes, an exhausted but elated Jude Bellingham collapsing to the turf, a poignant curtain call in front of the Yellow Wall. It meant something to Borussia Dortmund, at least. They qualified for the last 16 with a performance of maturity and ambition, which even, with a little more balance and penetration in the final third, could have finished with the three points.
That his opponents were largely through the motions was of the slightest relevance. Of course, Manchester City came to win. It’s just that if they really needed it, you sense that they probably would have found a way.
The draw here suited both teams, with City already through to the last 16 and Dortmund needing just a point. And for all the brief bursts of drama, including a missed penalty by Riyad Mahrez, this was ultimately a game of diminished ambitions and thwarted plans – a learning experience rather than a red-hot contest.
What did Pep Guardiola learn? Probably a lot of things he already knew. That city with a feverish intensity lower than usual remains vulnerable in transition. That the goalkeeper Stefan Ortega is a fine and reliable deputy of Ederson. That Julian Álvarez can be a viable plan B when Erling Haaland is injured or rested.
Alvarez filled the centre-forward role when Haaland withdrew at half-time, and although he enjoyed few looks at goal himself, his sharp movement and clever link-up play helped City exert control getting bigger and bigger as the match went on.
And although the stakes weren’t at their highest, the atmosphere was as rabid and raucous as ever. The Südkurve rose and howled and hammered all the old tunes, a hurricane of songs and aggression. They roared every block and every office, shouted out City’s long spells of possession and even gave their returning star Haaland a warm welcome.
Erling Haaland, on a smooth return to Borussia Dortmund, is tackled by Emre Can Photograph: DeFodi Images/Getty Images
Naturally, Haaland’s lack of power improved his mood no end. It was a quiet performance from City’s No.9, playing with a slight bout of flu and enjoying just 13 touches compared to 1,006 for his team-mates. His substitution was as much a precaution as anything else, having picked up a slight knock on his foot, not serious it seems, but certainly a small grain of optimism for Brendan Rogers, whose Leicester face City on Saturday.
The funny thing was that City seemed to improve after Haaland left. It had been a lackluster first half from them, with Dortmund enjoying several threatening moments in transition, the two best chances falling to Youssoufa Moukoko. In many ways, this has been Dortmund’s Achilles’ heel this season under Edin Terzic – a promising approach game marred by poor execution and a subsequent failure to capitalize on their dominant spells.
And when Mahrez rose to take a penalty he had won himself, after dropping his shoulder and drawing a clear foul from Emre Can, it felt like a familiar script was about to play out. But then Mahrez from 12 yards is his unique kind of psychodrama and sure enough, a poor penalty was denied by the much-maligned Dortmund goalkeeper Gregor Kobel.
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“Since I got here I don’t know how many millions of penalties we’ve missed,” muttered Guardiola. “It’s a big problem. Riyad will reflect, practice. And for now, there will be a break.” Ominous.
But as soon as a subdued Dortmund began to sense that it might be their night, the quiet waves of blue began to wash over them. In some ways, this barren dominance was an impressive feat of display by City, simply dismissing the missed penalty by pretending it had actually been scored. John Stones stepped up to midfield and began directing the game.
Ilkay Gündogan began to wander further forward and changed the point of attack. Rodri made 138 passes, not that anyone, maybe even Rodri himself, remembered a single one of them. And finally the yellow wall stood firm; that the city was not determined to break, would be the greatest fortune of all for Dortmund.