Manchester City’s European season ended in ignominy when they lost their final Champions League group match 1-0 to a below-strength Borussia Dortmund after a goal from reserve striker Julian Schieber on Tuesday.
Schieber, starting only his second game for the club, slid home Jakub Blaszczykowski’s cross as the English champions again looked out of their depth at European level.
Big-spending City, eliminated before kickoff and out in the group stage for the second season running, finished bottom of Group D with only three points and missed out on the consolation of qualifying for the Europa League.
City are the first Premier League team not to win a game in the Champions League group phase and their points tally was the lowest recorded by an English side, eclipsing Blackburn Rovers’ record of four points from six games in the 1995-1996 season.
Bundesliga champions Dortmund rested Polish trio Robert Lewandowski, Blaszczykowski and Lukasz Piszczek, while Mario Goetze was ruled out along with Neven Subotic, Sebastian Kehl and Sven Bender.
Mario Balotelli, booed incessantly after coming on as a second-half substitute, summed up City’s evening when he was booked in stoppage-time for petulantly throwing the ball to the ground when a decision went against him.
“Was it the same old story? Yes. I don’t know why,” Manchester City goalkeeper Joe Hart told Sky Sports. “I’d love to answer it. We need to address it, though.”
“The intensity was there, but once they scored it disappeared, which is a shame as we have showed we are a side that can come from behind. Of course we have let ourselves down, because we haven’t even got in the Europa League,” he added.
“There was a hunger to win tonight and if that meant Europa League, then great, but we have got bigger issues than that. We were up against a weakened team and we had to win,” Hart said.
Schieber’s only previous goal for Dortmund had come against lower-league opposition in the German Cup.
Dortmund, who had already secured top spot, completed their impressive campaign with four wins and two draws.
Like City, the Germans were eliminated at the group stage last season, but unlike their opponents have learned from that experience.
“I’m glad the coach gave me the chance, that I repaid his trust in me and that it worked out,” 23-year-old Schieber said after scoring his first Champions League goal.
Dortmund’s philosophy is a complete contrast to City’s, with CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke saying that the club would not exchange its freedom and independence to have an outside investor.
“That is our culture and the culture of our 75,000 members. Being free and independent is German heritage,” he said.
The English champions started with Carlos Tevez partnering Edin Dzeko in attack and Sergio Aguero on the bench.
Dortmund had the best chance of an uninspiring first half when Marco Reus cut inside his marker and scraped the outside of the post with a low left-foot shot.
Mats Hummels just failed to make contact with Marcel Schmelzer’s free-kick, then Joe Hart tipped away an Ivan Perisic volley and saved Kevin Grosskreutz’s shot at the foot of the post as Dortmund made an electrifying start to the second half.
The goal duly arrived when halftime substitute Blaszczykowski burst down the right and sent over an inviting low cross, which Schieber turned in from close range.
“What we have achieved is mad,” Dortmund’s charismatic coach Juergen Klopp said, with his customary three days’ growth of stubble on his chin. “I think we’ve earned ourselves a bit of respect.”
Shohei Ohtani and Clayton Kershaw on Friday joined their Los Angeles Dodgers teammates in sticking their fists out to show off their glittering World Series rings at a ceremony. “There’s just a lot of excitement, probably more than I can ever recall with the Dodger fan base and our players,” manager Dave Roberts said before Los Angeles rallied to beat the Detroit Tigers 8-5 in 10 innings. “What a way to cap off the first two days of celebrations,” Roberts said afterward. “By far the best opening week I’ve ever experienced. I just couldn’t have scripted it any better.” A choir in the
The famously raucous Hong Kong Sevens are to start today in a big test for a shiny new stadium at the heart of a major US$3.85 billion sports park in the territory. Officials are keeping their fingers crossed that the premier event in Hong Kong’s sporting and social calendar goes off without a hitch at the 50,000-seat Kai Tak Stadium. They hope to entice major European soccer teams to visit in the next few months, with reports in December last year saying that Liverpool were in talks about a pre-season tour. Coldplay are to perform there next month, all part of Hong Kong’s
Shohei Ohtani, Teoscar Hernandez and Tommy Edman on Thursday smashed home runs to give the reigning World Series champions the Los Angeles Dodgers a 5-4 victory over Detroit on the MLB’s opening day in the US. The Dodgers, who won two season-opening games in Tokyo last week, raised their championship banner on a day when 28 clubs launched the season in the US. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts shuffled his batting lineup with all four leadoff hitters finally healthy as Ohtani was followed by Mookie Betts, then Hernandez and Freddie Freeman in the cleanup spot, switching places with Hernandez. “There’s a Teoscar tax to
Marcus Rashford’s first goals for Aston Villa on Sunday inspired a 3-0 win against Preston North End that sent his side into the FA Cup semi-finals for the first time in 10 years. Rashford struck twice in the second half at Deepdale to end Preston’s stubborn resistance before Jacob Ramsey wrapped up Villa’s long-awaited return to the last four. Villa are to face Crystal Palace — 3-0 winners at Fulham on Saturday — in the semi-finals at Wembley Stadium in London. Revitalized since joining Villa on loan from Manchester United during the January transfer window, Rashford is beginning to show the form that