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A dramatic late penalty has given Manchester City a first win in their Champions League campaign as they defeated Borussia Monchengladbach 2-1 in Germany. The Sky Blues should have taken the lead with five minutes on the clock when Raheem Sterling’s low cross towards the back post found Sergio Aguero in front of goal, but Yann Sommer produced an instinctive block.
Gladbach had the opportunity to take the lead from the penalty spot in the 25th minute when Raffael was felled in the area by Martin Demichelis. Raffael stepped up to take the kick himself, only to be denied as City goalkeeper Joe Hart guessed correctly and saved it.
Hart had a string of additional saves to make before the first half was over, thwarting Raffael in a one-on-one situation in the 34th minute and before denying Patrick Herrmann from a tight angle to keep City level pegged at the interval. Hart could do nothing about Gladbach’s opener, which came early in the second half when Julian Korb’s dangerous ball into the area was diverted home by Lars Stindl from close range.
City were on level terms in the 65th minutes when a Demichelis strike was cleared only as far as Nicolas Otamendi, who drilled home the equaliser, even though his teammate’s initial effort appeared to have crossed the line. The Sky Blues’ winner came under the most dramatic of circumstances. Aguero twisted and turned in the box, drawing a foul from Fabian Johnson and the referee pointed straight to the spot. With 90 minutes on the clock, the Argentine stepped up himself and fired home the winning goal to send the travelling support into raptures and secure City’s first Champions League win of the season
