The opposition's respect for Borussia Dortmund's performance was clear from the way they celebrated. The whole bench jumped up and half of Manchester rejoiced after Phil Foden had made it 2-1. At that point England's soon-to-be champions knew; they knew that BVB could not score three goals in 15 minutes and deny them a semi-final place.

Despite their two 2-1 defeats to Man City, Borussia Dortmund earned a lot of respect. From the opposition. Across Europe. Both games were close. Extremely close. We were playing against perhaps the best team in the world, and we saw we can compete," said Emre Can. "Man City played outstandingly in both matches and deserved to reach the next round," stated Edin Terzic, adding: "Nonetheless, it is who goes through that counts rather than who deserves it more."

In the run-up to the game, it was clear Borussia Dortmund would only have a chance if they got everything right. The performances in both games were good, very good even. But the concentration levels were not always optimal, as was the case for Foden's two winners – in the 90th minute in Manchester and the 75th minute in Dortmund. And the misplaced pass that led to the first goal in the first leg should not have happened either.

Mistakes are part and parcel of football, just as the ball, beer & bratwurst are (when spectators are allowed to attend, that is). And BVB were certainly unlucky with some refereeing mistakes. The decision to disallow Jude Bellingham's goal in Manchester was incorrect, as was the penalty call against Emre Can. Without them, the games would have ended 2-2 and 1-1, and Borussia would've reached the semi-finals...

"We weren't overly lucky with the refereeing decisions in these seven days," declared Terzic. The fact that his team has been the only one this season to score two goals against City will be little more than scant consolation. (br)