Manchester City thrashes Dortmund in Champions League

BERLIN, Nov. 5 (Xinhua) -- Manchester City climbed to fourth in the Champions League standings after a commanding 4-1 win over Borussia Dortmund, moving within two points of leading trio Bayern Munich, Arsenal and Inter on Wednesday.

Dortmund began brightly, pressing high and keeping City pinned back in the opening spell. Yet once Phil Foden broke the deadlock with a precise low finish from the edge of the box in the 22nd minute, momentum quickly shifted. Seven minutes later, Erling Haaland doubled the lead with a powerful strike from Doku's cross, and the hosts began to dominate possession.

Despite a promising start, the visitors struggled to handle City's pace and movement, with goalkeeper Gregor Kobel repeatedly called into action before halftime. Foden struck again in the 57th minute, finishing neatly into the same corner to make it 3-0. Dortmund briefly responded when Waldemar Anton volleyed home after a short free kick to reduce the deficit to 3-1 with just under 20 minutes remaining.

The Bundesliga side pressed forward, and Karim Adeyemi went close twice, but substitute Rayan Cherki sealed the result with a stoppage-time finish.

The victory extends City's unbeaten home run in European competition to six matches and lifts it into strong contention of progression from the league phase ahead of upcoming clashes with Liverpool and Bayer Leverkusen. Dortmund, meanwhile, will look to recover from its first Champions League defeat before hosting Villarreal later this month.

"We have seen that City are simply the better team. We started well but did not create enough chances and were too passive overall. It is a deserved defeat for us. Of course, it is City, but conceding four goals is still a bit too much, in the end, goal difference might also matter," rued Dortmund coach Niko Kovac.

City manager Pep Guardiola expressed satisfaction with his team's win. "The first 15 minutes I said, wow, what is this? They were good and put us under a lot of pressure. It was a good game for us, and I have great respect for Dortmund. We are pleased with the result and the performance. We are not Bayern, not Arsenal, but we are close," he said.

Elsewhere in the Champions League on Wednesday, Inter Milan stayed perfect with a 2-1 win at FC Kairat, Qarabag drew 2-2 with Chelsea, Pafos beat Villarreal 1-0, Galatasaray downed Ajax 3-0, Bayer Leverkusen edged Benfica 1-0, Barcelona drew 3-3 with Club Brugge, Atalanta beat Marseille 1-0, and Newcastle topped Athletic Club 2-0. ■