Dortmund draw 0-0 with Manchester City to join them in knockout stage

Dortmund, October 26 (BNA): Borussia Dortmund drew 0-0 with already qualified Manchester City to book its place in the Champions League playoffs with a match.

The result ensured that City, who missed a penalty in the second half and has 11 points, would top Group G while Dortmund, who had eight points, fired on the second qualification ticket to finish second, ahead of third-placed Sevilla, who have 5 points. Points, Reuters reports.

“We played better in the second half,” City coach Pep Guardiola said. “In the first half we conceded some balls and lost some on the counterattack.”

“Since I’ve been here, we’ve missed 24 or 25 penalties – it’s too many. You always have to admire the courage, but missing so many penalties is a problem. We have to improve.

“It’s about good margins in this competition and these situations can make a difference.”

The Germans, who needed a point to advance, got off to a strong start as Karim Adeyemi caused major problems with his speed on the right wing.

The Germany international scored his first attempt on goal early on, testing City goalkeeper Stefan Ortega on his debut.

Gio Reina came close in the 25th minute with a low shot but it was the unmarked Yusuf Mukoko who should have scored soon after but instead cleared his best chance from six metres.

In an unremarkable return to Dortmund where he scored 86 goals in 89 matches until his departure in June, City’s top scorer Erling Haaland was completely eliminated by defender Mats Hummels in the first half.

The English champions failed to make any effort on goal and the Norwegian was taken out in the first half.

“Erling had a slight fever before the match and Joao Cancelo too,” Guardiola said. “They were tired so we made changes.”

They could have grabbed the lead when Riyad Mahrez was dropped in the box.

The Algerian, who missed a penalty kick in the previous round against FC Copenhagen, was defeated by Dortmund’s Gregor Kopel, who rebounded in the right corner to block his shot.

Copil also did a good job stopping Julian Alvarez’s shot in the 67th minute in what turned out to be City’s first and only chance from open play.

“We finally rewarded ourselves against City with a point today,” said Dortmund coach Eden Terzic. “We played a really good first half. I rarely watch a game with City as they had very few chances.”

Third-placed Sevilla with five points will continue in the Europa League after beating 10-man Copenhagen 3-0 earlier on Tuesday.