Manchester City meet Borussia Dortmund in Group G of the Champions League this week, so what are the Citizens’ best results against German sides in European competitions yet?
The Etihad Stadium natives have met German teams more often in Europe than from any other country with 29 encounters and counting. City have also won in 18 of the meetings, with a showcase performance by David Silva returning a win over Bayern Munich in 2011.
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Wednesday will mark the fifth time that Manchester City have met Borussia Dortmund in a European competition. They first met during the group stage of the 2012/13 season with a 1-1 draw in Manchester, before BVB took their sole win so far 1-0 at the Westfalenstadion.
Manchester City will hope to now follow their 2021 results when Borussia Dortmund arrive in England after doing a quarter-final double over this week’s opponent. A win would keep Pep Guardiola’s team top of Group G, with goal difference the only separator after one tie.
The 2021 encounters between Manchester City and Borussia Dortmund feature among the Citizens’ best results against German sides in Europe so far. So, with that in mind, what are the other four ties that preceded Guardiola taking a pair of 2-1 results in April of last year?
Manchester City beat German side Schalke in 1969/70 Cup Winners’ Cup semi-final
Manchester City claimed one of their best results against German sides during a European competition yet in their first game against a team from the country in the 1969/70 season. The Citizens beat Schalke 5-2 on aggregate during the semi-final of the Cup Winners’ Cup.
Schalke had taken the early advantage in the tie with a 1-0 first-leg victory at the Gluckauf-Kampfbahn through Reinhard Libuda. But Manchester City would respond resoundingly at Maine Road, comfortably claiming a 5-1 win to book a date with Gornik Zabrze in the final.
Mike Doyle and a brace from Neil Young gave the Citizens a 3-0 lead during the first half an hour of the second-leg, while Francis Lee and Colin Bell added to the margin before Libuda replied. Manchester City would then beat Gornik Zabrze 2-1 to win the Cup Winners’ Cup.
Manchester City marked Champions League return with Bayern Munich win in 11/12
Manchester City made their return to UEFA’s premier club competition during the 2011/12 Champions League. They had not played in the tournament since its time as the European Cup in 1968/69. And while their route ended in the group stage, they beat Bayern Munich.
The Citizens hosted Der FCB in the last match of Group A and a heroic effort from Silva and Yaya Toure returned a 2-0 win. Silva was the star of the show as the Spaniard elegantly put the ball home with a flash across to the bottom right-hand corner of Hans-Jorg Butt’s goal.
While the result was not enough to stop Manchester City falling into the Europa League for the last 32, it showed that they could compete in the top European competition by beating the would-be defeated Champions League finalists and also dealing them their first defeat.
Manchester City beat Bayern Munich in Germany to win at European cup holders
Manchester City met Bayern Munich again for the group stage of the Champions League in 2013/14, and took another of their best results against a German side yet. But this time, it occurred in Bavaria as Manuel Pellegrini oversaw a 3-2 win while visiting the Allianz Arena.
Der FCB had visited City earlier in Group D as the reigning Champions League, Bundesliga and DFB-Pokal winners. The matchday two clash returned a 3-1 win for the German giants, which ultimately settled who topped the standings as they would finish level on 15 points.
Pellegrini took his team to Germany for the final game of the group stage and saw Thomas Muller and Mario Gotze put Bayern Munich two goals to the good inside 12 minutes. But Manchester City refused to be beaten as Silva, Aleksandar Kolarov and James Milner fired.
Manchester City thrashed German side Schalke in 18/19 Champions League last 16
Manchester City thrashed Schalke in the Round of 16 of the Champions League in 2018/19 to register another of their best results against German sides so far. The Citizens drew Die Konigsblauen in the first knockout round and they won home and away 10-2 on aggregate.
With Guardiola at the helm, Manchester City comfortably topped their group above Lyon, Shakhtar Donetsk and TSG Hoffenheim. A trip to the Veltins-Arena would then return a 3-2 first-leg advantage, before the Etihad Stadium bore-witness to a resounding 7-0 drubbing.
Sergio Aguero broke the deadlock from the spot, before he secured his brace within three minutes. Leroy Sane then added before the break, before Raheem Sterling, Bernardo Silva, Phil Foden and Gabriel Jesus sealed a spot in the quarter-final against Tottenham Hotspur.
Manchester City made 2020/21 Champions League final after Borussia Dortmund win
Manchester City finally overcame their hurdles to reach the Champions League final during the 2020/21 season. They would lose 1-0 to Chelsea at the Estadio do Dragao in Porto, but they had enjoyed an unbeaten run through the group stage and earlier knockout matches.
City only failed to win in one of their 12 fixtures preceding the final, too, with a 0-0 draw at Porto. Whilst two meetings with Borussia Dortmund in the quarter-finals returned a pair of 2-1 wins, after a pair of 2-0 victories over fellow German side Borussia Monchengladbach.
Kevin De Bruyne put Manchester City on route for one of their best results against German sides so far with a 19th-minute effort in the first-leg. Foden would later ensure the Citizens visited the Westfalenstadion with a net lead moments after Marco Reus drew BVB level.
Jude Bellingham would then put a cat amongst the pigeons by scoring 15 minutes into the reverse leg in North Rhine-Westphalia. Yet the England midfielder could not help to stop Riyad Mahrez scoring from the spot, before Foden ensured City’s place in the semi-finals.
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