Phil Foden scored twice and Erling Haaland netted against his former club as Manchester City brushed aside Borussia Dortmund to strengthen their position in the league phase of the Champions League.
Pep Guardiola’s men are unbeaten in their opening four matches and a third win moved them up to fourth in the table, with the top eight sides qualifying automatically for the last 16.
Nico Kovac’s Dortmund side had started on the front foot but faded away as the hosts scored twice in seven first-half minutes to wrestle control of the contest.
Foden was impressive throughout and he stung the palms of Gregor Kobel with a powerful strike from outside the box, before a curling free-kick straight into the hands of the visiting goalkeeper.
It was third time lucky for the Englishman in the 22nd minute, picking the ball up outside the box and, as the Dortmund defenders stood off, Foden rolled a delightful finish low into the bottom corner.
It was his first Champions League goal in exactly a year after netting in a 4-1 defeat by Sporting in last season’s competition.
City then attacked at will and seemed intent on steamrollering the opposition as Kobel tipped over a close-range effort from Nico O’Reilly, before the prolific Haaland thumped home a cutback from Jeremy Doku in the 29th minute.
Kobel was kept busy, batting away a thunderous drive from Tijjani Reijnders.
But City pushed on after the restart and Foden doubled his tally in the 57th minute by curling home a delightful second.
Dortmund, who are 14th in the table, staged a late rally and Waldemar Anton poked home a consolation from a Julian Ryerson cross.
But substitute Rayan Cherki restored City’s three-goal advantage in added time with a lovely run and neat finish.
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After a sticky start by losing two of their first three games this season, City have hit their stride and gone on a run of just one defeat in their last 13 games, taking apart a tough Dortmund side on Wednesday.
Kick-off was preceded by a light show at Etihad Stadium and the players shone equally brightly as City took their points tally to 10.
Though City went out early in the play-off round last season, their home record in the group phase of this competition is an imposing one, stretching their unbeaten run to 23 games going back seven years.
Midfielder Foden had a couple of sighters before stroking in a glorious opener and added to his tally in the second half with a similar classy effort for his fourth goal of the campaign.
The game had already been taken away from the German side by that stage as the rampant Haaland smacked home a first-time finish.
It was the Norwegian’s 27th goal for club and country in what is turning into a remarkable campaign for the striker as he leads City’s charge on all fronts.
Haaland seems to break records every time he plays and this was another, with a goal now in five consecutive Champions League games for three different clubs following his exploits for RB Salzburg and Dortmund.
City will also be buoyed by Cherki’s late impact, the Frenchman showcasing further evidence of his qualities with a third goal this term after providing two assists for Haaland in Sunday’s victory over Bournemouth.
Phil Foden took his tally to four for the campaign for Manchester City
