Today sees the clash between Manchester City and Borussia Dortmund on matchday 4 of the Champions League phase. The question is whether the visitors' defensive bulwark around Swiss national goalkeeper Gregor Kobel can also withstand Erling Haaland.
05.11.2025, 13:00
05.11.2025, 13:58
SDA
Both Manchester City and Borussia Dortmund are still unbeaten in the top flight after three matchdays. Both have seven points to their name. Manchester City had to accept a late draw in Monaco in the second round, while BVB let what they thought was a certain victory slip from their grasp in the opener against Juventus Turin.
Two teams in form will meet in Manchester on Wednesday evening. City have turned things around after a mediocre start to the season and are in second place in the Premier League, while Dortmund are in third place in the Bundesliga. As similar as the form of the two teams is, as different is their style of play - which primarily has to do with the coaches. Even in his tenth season in England, Pep Guardiola is not moving away from possession football. Niko Kovac, on the other hand, focuses on defense. Both are reflected in the statistics.
The dependence on Haaland
Manchester City have scored the most goals in the Premier League with 20 goals in ten games, with the same player - the one with the unmistakable running style and long blond hair - always scoring. Erling Haaland has scored 15 goals and is therefore the Premier League's top scorer by a large margin.
An astonishing statistic also shows that the second-best league goalscorer for Manchester City is Burnley defender Maxime Esteve, who scored two own goals against the Citizens. Apart from Haaland, not a single City player has scored more than one goal in the Premier League.
Haaland has also been prolific in the Champions League, scoring four goals in three games. Even more impressive is his performance with the Norwegian national team. Haaland has scored eight goals in the last two World Cup qualifiers alone.
Dortmund pragmatism
Dortmund also have a top striker in their ranks in Serhou Guirassy. However, the guarantee for success so far this season has been the defensive unit. Gregor Kobel has not conceded a goal in six of nine Bundesliga matches. Niko Kovac's results-oriented approach to football has meant that the offense has sometimes suffered. BVB as a whole scored as many goals in the Bundesliga as Haaland did in the Premier League.
The duel between the Norwegian and his former club - Haaland was under contract at Dortmund from 2020 to 2022 - has already taken place twice since the now 25-year-old switched sides. In the group stage of the 2022/23 season, City won 2:1 in front of a home crowd, thanks of course to a late and spectacular goal from Haaland. In the second leg in front of a home crowd, Gregor Kobel kept his goal clean in a 0-0 draw. A result that at least Niko Kovac would sign off on.
