Phil Foden’s stunning strike earned Manchester City a comeback 2-1 win at Borussia Dortmund to book his side a first Champions League semi-final spot in five years after a 4-2 aggregate success.
He would have had a goal in the first leg had not been for a poor refereeing decision, but 17-year-old starlet Jude Bellingham became the second-youngest goalscorer in knockout Champions League history with a superb finish in the 16th minute to swing the tie in Dortmund’s favour.
There was a serious danger of history repeating itself for City, as they looked to avoid a fourth successive Champions League quarter-final exit, and they got a stroke of luck to see the momentum shift again, as Emre Can handled in the penalty area, with Riyad Mahrez, after a lengthy VAR review, converting the 55th minute penalty to level things up on the night.
Anything Bellingham could do, Foden could do better, as another embryonic English talent settled the contest. The 20-year-old followed up his winner in the first leg with a sensational strike, which snuck in at the near post with 14 minutes left, to book a mouthwatering semi-final clash with Paris Saint-Germain.
Pep Guardiola went with a False 9 system again, with Foden selected ahead of Raheem Sterling, and City looked calm and in control early on, until Bellingham pounced, becoming the youngest English Champions League goalscorer with a arrowing strike past Ederson.
Kevin De Bruyne took it upon himself to take the attack to Dortmund, hitting the crossbar with a powerful strike after winning the ball back on the edge of the penalty area.
Bellingham then got back to do his defensive work, clearing off the line to deny Mahrez, but the Algerian was not to be denied, as he scored a rare penalty for City, with there hardly a queue of talkers, given how many spot kicks City have missed in the past few seasons.
Dortmund were not happy with the award, given it came of Can’s head onto his arm. The letter of the law is if it deflects from another body part onto the arm it is not a penalty, but perhaps given Can’s arm was in such an unnatural position it worked against him.
From that moment on, with Erling Haaland struggling to even get a kick, there was only going to be one winner, with City just having too much quality for the hosts. Foden picked up the short corner, and arrowed a superb strike that just squeezed home. He ran straight to Guardiola, as the pair embraced, safe in the knowledge it was job done. The quadruple is still very much on.
