Youssoufa Moukoko became the youngest ever scorer in a Bundesliga Revierderby as his powerful header gave Borussia Dortmund a 1-0 win against Schalke.

At just 17 years and 301 days, it was the prodigious teenager who was the match-winner on Saturday at Signal Iduna Park, taking Dortmund top of the league.

His decisive intervention came in the 79th minute, to ensure the Black and Yellow's dominant efforts were not in vain against their stubborn visitors.

Coupled with Bayern Munich's surprise loss to Augsburg, the result sent Edin Terzic's men to the summit, albeit with fellow early high-flyers Union Berlin and Freiburg still to play this weekend.

The result also helped Dortmund to their longest winning streak against Schalke in over half a century, with four wins on the trot now, having previously achieved eight on the bounce between 1964 and 1967.

It did not come without a cost, however, after captain Marco Reus was stretchered off in the first half, in a potentially significant blow for Dortmund and Germany with the Qatar 2022 World Cup on the horizon.

Borussia Dortmund head coach Edin Terzic is "delighted" by Schalke's return to the Bundesliga – highlighting derby day as the most important in his team's season.

Having spent last season in the second tier, Schalke's return to the top flight means Saturday will see the first Revierderby at Dortmund's Signal Iduna Park for almost two years.

The last, in October 2020, had just 300 fans in attendance due to COVID-19 restrictions.

Saturday's clash will be the 99th Bundesliga derby between the teams, with Dortmund currently boasting three wins in a row including a 4-0 triumph in Terzic's first Revierderby that stands as his biggest league win with the club.

"We're absolutely delighted. We know what significance the derby carries for our fans and for the region. We're aware of the responsibility," Terzic said in Friday's press conference.

"The derby is the most important match. We know that we need to win the game. But we also want to win the game."

With four victories from six matches so far, Terzic is keen for another win before the international break, adding: "That would mean we've established ourselves towards the top."

Schalke sporting director Rouven Schroder is excited for Saturday's derby but concedes his side will be the underdogs – with only goalkeepers Ralf Fahrmann and Michael Langer having previous experience in a Revierderby. Neither is likely to play this weekend.

"Our overall performance will be decisive. We need to be confident and brave, and we're hoping to go home with a positive result," Schroder said.

"We've earned the chance to play the derby after working hard for a whole year. We can't wait for it now.

"We all know that Dortmund are a Champions League side and they've been on an incredible journey. It's therefore a derby where one side is perhaps a bit stronger than the other, but we'll gladly take on the challenge."

Bundesliga sensation Jude Bellingham has a long list of admirers back in England.

The Three Lions midfielder's contract at Borussia Dortmund runs until 2025.

Bellingham left England when he moved from Birmingham City for Dortmund in 2020.

TOP STORY – REDS LEADING BELLINGHAM PURSUIT

Liverpool are leading the race to sign teenager Bellingham from Dortmund, reports The Telegraph.

Manchester United are also interested in the 19-year-old, who has started all nine of Dortmund's games this season.

Bellingham may be allowed to leave Dortmund in 2023, and the German club are expecting a bid from the Reds.

ROUND-UP

– The Mirror claims Liverpool are also mulling over a move for new Wolves signing Matheus Nunes as an alternative to Bellingham, should they miss out.

– Rafael Leao has attracted interest from Chelsea and Manchester City but will snub both to stay with Milan on a new long-term deal, according to La Gazzetta dello Sport.

– Sport claims Barcelona are keeping an eye on Monaco's Brazilian left-back Caio Henrique.

– Free agent Danny Rose has verbally agreed to join AEK Athens, reports The Sun. The ex-Tottenham defender left Watford earlier this month.

Pep Guardiola described Jude Bellingham as "exceptional" after the England international gave an impressive performance in Borussia Dortmund's 2-1 defeat at Manchester City.

City were staring at a shock Champions League defeat when Bellingham met Marco Reus' left-wing delivery to nod the Bundesliga outfit ahead in the second half on Wednesday.

But John Stones' long-range strike beat Alexander Meyer in bizarre fashion with 10 minutes left, and Erling Haaland had the last word against his former club when he produced a terrific acrobatic winner.

Speaking after seeing his City team maintain their perfect start to the Champions League campaign, Guardiola singled out Dortmund's teenage midfielder for praise.

"I was impressed two seasons ago when he was 17. Now he's 19... he was good at 17, imagine now at 19," Guardiola said.

"He's able to follow [Ilkay] Gundogan, Kevin [De Bruyne], win the duels, transitions are fast, to have the sense in the box for the goal he scored. 

"So yes, an exceptional player. I think everybody knows it, not because the manager of Manchester City says it, everybody knows it."

Bellingham has now scored four Champions League goals – the most ever managed by an English teenager in the competition. Meanwhile, his 18 appearances in Europe's premier club competition is a record among English players under the age of 20.

Half of the midfielder's Champions League goals have now come against City, after he opened the scoring in the second leg of the club's quarter-final defeat to Guardiola's men in 2020-21.

Dortmund coach Edin Terzic was also keen to highlight the quality of his performance, saying: "Jude, like all the other players, gave a great performance in offensive and defensive terms. 

"He blocked so any passes and crosses and also got forward… once again, he was very good against Manchester City."

Erling Haaland's sensational winner against Borussia Dortmund echoed two greats in the form of Johan Cruyff and Zlatan Ibrahimovic, says Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola.

Haaland netted with an acrobatic 84th-minute volley from Joao Cancelo's expert centre to seal three points for City against his former club in the Champions League on Wednesday.

It marked a fine turnaround after John Stones had already cancelled out Jude Bellingham's opener with a fierce long-range hit at the Etihad Stadium.

For City boss Guardiola, Haaland's athletic effort drew comparisons to Cruyff's famous strike for Barcelona against Atletico Madrid in 1973 – often referred to as the 'ghost goal' due to the scarcity of the available quality footage.

"Maybe the people who know me, you know the influence Johan Cruyff had in my life, as a person, an educator, a manager and mentor, everything," Guardiola said.

"Johan Cruyff, years and years ago at Camp Nou he scored an incredible goal against Atletico Madrid. It was quite similar. The moment he scored the goal I thought, Johan Cruyff.

"It was quite similar. It was a really good one. The pass from Joao is exceptional, he has the ability to do this kind of thing. Simple things, every ball he has, he has to make this kind of action, I know he can do it. That's football, you cannot force it. He made an incredible assist pass and the finishing from Erling was exceptional."

While Guardiola idolises Cruyff, he had a much tenser relationship with one of European football's modern greats, Ibrahimovic.

The striker spent just a season at Barcelona during Guardiola's tenure and the two did not see eye to eye.

Yet Guardiola sees the similarities in skill level between Haaland – who is now the youngest player in Champions League history to score for and against the same side in the competition – and the Milan forward, though he could not resist a sarcastic quip.

"The first impression that I had, I remember a little bit my friend, my dear friend Ibrahimovic, had this incredible ability to pull back in the air, you know, and Erling is quite similar on that," Guardiola added with a smile.

"He is elastic, flexible and to have that ability to make the contact to put it in the net. He is mature, and he has that flexibility."

The game marked Guardiola's 150th Champions League match as a manager, and he brought up his 95th win. Only two managers have won more games in the competition’s history – Alex Ferguson (102) and Carlo Ancelotti (100).

However, it was not an easy ride, with City performing well below their level until Dortmund took the lead. Indeed, their two goals came with their first two shots on target.

"We had a lot of problems to get our rhythm, we were so passive, our movements to be aggressive," explained Guardiola, who compared the match to the last time City met Dortmund, in the Champions League quarter-finals in April 2021.

"Yes, we struggled, we played in the wrong gear. We are who we are, win or lose, the way we played in the last 30 minutes, when we realised we were 1-0 down. We gave it another rhythm.

"The Champions League doesn't wait, it doesn't forgive you. They defended really well, hopefully we can learn the lesson for Saturday, against one of the toughest opponents we've had in the last few years against Wolves, and hopefully it will help us against Dortmund in the [return match]."

Erling Haaland always expected a tough game against former employers Borussia Dortmund but said "they didn't stop me" after scoring a superb winner in Manchester City's 2-1 comeback triumph.

City were up against it in Wednesday's Champions League encounter when Jude Bellingham nodded the visitors ahead after the break.

But John Stones rifled in a long-range equaliser, which proved the precursor to a moment of genius from Haaland, who produced a stunning acrobatic volley to break the hearts of his former club.

Haaland's stunning intervention came just a day after Dortmund defender Nico Schlotterbeck declared he was well-equipped to stop the Norwegian, shattering a resolute defensive display from BVB.

City's goals – scored in the 80th and 84th minutes – came from their first two shots on target in the match, and Haaland acknowledged how tough it had been for him to make his mark. 

"They didn't stop me. I scored. They played well, they were good," Haaland, who at the age of 22 years and 55 days old is now the youngest player in Champions League history to score both for and against a single club, told BT Sport.

"They were good. I was quite sure I was going to be followed the whole game because Edin [Terzic] knows me very well. Dortmund were really good today. In the end, the three points is what matters.

"This is what we are, and this is why we have to play. In the end, I'm proud of the last 20, 25 minutes. 

"Two wonderful goals today, mine was a bit better, honestly! In the end, a really important win."

City have now gone unbeaten through their last 21 home Champions League games (W19 D2), the longest such sequence by an English club since Chelsea also went 21 without defeat between September 2006 and December 2009.

Just as belief was drifting away from the Etihad Stadium, Stones' 20-yard strike whistled past Alexander Meyer to get the hosts back on terms – the England defender's first goal from outside the penalty area for club or country.

Stones explained he had taken up his advanced position for defensive reasons as he acknowledged City did not meet their usual standards for long periods.

"The manager wants us in those sorts of areas for things like that, and to control the counter-attack as well, we're in good positions for balls that come outside the box," Stones said.

"It was one of those things, I was getting a few shouts and just decided to pull the trigger.

"It was difficult, we were definitely not at our best. In the first half we made it difficult, we didn't play at the tempo we should have, we didn’t use the ball well, we had a lot of sloppy passes.

"So at half-time we had some stern words between each other and tried to change that for the second half, and I think we did."

Dortmund goalscorer Bellingham, meanwhile, acknowledged the quality of Haaland's finish in his own post-match interview, saying: "That shows his quality, you know? 

"He's not always in the game, but you know if you give him half a sniff, he can make a goal. That's what he did tonight."

City's win moved them three points clear of Dortmund at the top of Group G ahead of back-to-back meetings with Copenhagen in early October.

Manchester City bought Erling Haaland to be the difference on nights like this.

In cagey Champions League matches, against Europe's top sides, the striker was the player who could turn possessional dominance into victory.

Yet for 84 frustrating minutes against his former club Borussia Dortmund on Wednesday, Haaland toiled. World-class players – strikers especially – only need a moment, a split-second, however, to do the damage.

And so it proved, when Joao Cancelo lofted in a left-wing cross to the back post that mere mortals could not have reached. But Haaland, now the youngest player in Champions League history to score for and against the same side in the competition, is no mere mortal.

Nico Schlotterbeck had told the press he "knew how to stop Haaland". The centre-back, named on the bench after playing in a 3-0 Bundesliga defeat to RB Leipzig at the weekend, had been on the pitch just six minutes when Haaland somehow met Cancelo's delivery and, in mid-air, prodded a finish beyond Alexander Meyer. His 13th goal of the season. It is mid-September.

It completed a four-minute City turnaround, from 1-0 down to 2-1 up – John Stones having cancelled out Jude Bellingham's opener with a rocket from the edge of the area, albeit one Meyer might have done better with.

Not that this was a vintage City display, by any means. Up until Stones' equaliser, they had laboured, failing to test Meyer. Indeed, the loudest the home crowd had been before then was after Haaland had struck the outside of the post from a near-impossible angle with his first true sighting of goal, and prior to that, it was a chorus of "you're just a s*** Bayern Munich" directed at the vociferous visiting fans, who were in great voice throughout.

Bellingham's opener did not come against the run of play, either. City had 64.1 per cent possession in the first half but managed just four attempts. None were on target and three, from Jack Grealish, were easily blocked.

Pep Guardiola cut a frustrated figure, but whatever he said to his side at half-time did not have the desired impact. Dortmund came out of the blocks, Marco Reus slicing just wide before he provided the cross-shot for Bellingham to nod home, becoming the highest-scoring English teenager in the Champions League in the process.

Bellingham scored one of his other three Champions League goals on the last occasion these sides met, in the 2020-21 quarter-finals. Riyad Mahrez and Phil Foden scored in a 2-1 win for City, sealing a 4-2 aggregate victory. 

Haaland, then in a Dortmund shirt of course, had 25 touches on that occasion. Only one of those came in the box, and he had just one attempt, failing to hit the target with it. He finished with 26 touches before being taken off to a standing ovation this time out, but 14 of those were in BVB's area.

Ilkay Gundogan, another ex-Dortmund star, had suggested in his pre-match press conference that City had to show more patience in regards to getting the ball into their number nine, but there is a fine balance to be struck and it was only when Foden came on – as part of a treble substitution in the wake of Dortmund's goal – that the hosts started to click into gear.

Whereas Grealish looked to chop inside, Foden's directness offered City a different dimension, putting Thomas Meunier on the back foot. Indeed, only a brilliant Mats Hummels intervention prevented Haaland getting on the end of a sharp Foden cross.

And it was getting the ball in sharply that finally set the stage for Haaland to prove the difference, to back up the reason City bought him. For nights like this. So well-shackled by his former club, one quick ball – from a situation where Cancelo had been far too content to play the safe option previously – provided the Norway international with the ammunition.

He does not miss. And for City, it means even on an off-day, they got the job done. Come the season's end, it might just prove to be the factor that ends their hunt for European glory.

Erling Haaland came back to haunt his former club with a stunning acrobatic winner as Manchester City came from behind to earn a hard-fought 2-1 win over Borussia Dortmund at the Etihad Stadium.

Haaland, who averaged over a goal per game in the Champions League during a two-year spell at Dortmund, met Joao Cancelo's fine cross with a sensational backheeled volley to seal the hosts' victory in the 84th minute.

City had appeared set for a surprise defeat when Jude Bellingham nodded Dortmund ahead after the break, only for John Stones' long-range effort to beat Alexander Meyer for the leveller.

Having been kept quiet by Mats Hummels and Niklas Sule for the majority of the contest, the indomitable Haaland came good in sensational style late on to ensure City preserved their perfect start to their Champions League campaign.

Erling Haaland was handed a start against his former club in Manchester City's Champions League clash with Borussia Dortmund.

Haaland scored twice in City's 4-0 rout of Sevilla last time out and Pep Guardiola had no issue starting the striker against his old side on Tuesday.

The 22-year-old has scored 25 goals in 20 Champions League appearances, the most by any player in their first 20 games in the competition. He netted 15 in 13 games with Dortmund and could become just the second player to score a Champions League goal both for and against the German side, after Ciro Immobile.

Haaland is the first City player to score on both his Premier League and Champions League debuts for the club, and was one of three former Dortmund players named in Guardiola's XI at the Etihad Stadium.

Captain Ilkay Gundogan started in midfield alongside Kevin De Bruyne and Rodri, with Manuel Akanji – who greeted his former team-mates on the pitch before kick-off – in defence, with John Stones, Nathan Ake and Joao Cancelo making up the rest of the back four ahead of goalkeeper Ederson. Riyad Mahrez and Jack Grealish flanked Haaland.

Another former Dortmund player, Sergio Gomez, was named among the City substitutes.

While Guardiola made four changes to the team that started against Sevilla, Dortmund boss Edin Terzic made three alterations to his team from the one that featured in the win over FC Copenhagen last week.

Emre Can, Mats Hummels and Giovani Reyna replaced Julian Brandt, Thorgen Hazard and Nico Schlotterbeck.

Bayern Munich have been left with a hole after Robert Lewandowski's exit for Barcelona.

Sadio Mane moved to Munich from Liverpool in the close season but he is not a like-for-like replacement.

Bayern have started the new Bundesliga campaign in indifferent form, following up three wins with as many draws.

TOP STORY – NEGOTIATIONS UNDERWAY BETWEEN KANE AND BAYERN

Harry Kane is increasingly open to the idea of making the move to join German champions Bayern Munich, claims Sky Sports.

Sky Sports' Florian Plettenberg reports that negotiations have already been held by Bayern and Kane's brother Charlie, who represents him.

Bayern have made the Tottenham striker their number one target and can offer him the likelihood of silverware, in comparison to Spurs.

ROUND-UP

– Fabrizio Romano reports that Lionel Messi will not make a decision on his future until after the World Cup, but Paris Saint-Germain are planning to offer him a new deal, while Barcelona are interested in re-signing him. Messi is contracted until 2023 but there is the option of another year in Paris.

– Jude Bellingham's list of suitors is growing with Chelsea, Manchester City, Manchester United and Liverpool all keen on Borussia Dortmund's English talent according to AS.

– New Chelsea boss Graham Potter has approved the club's pursuit of RB Leipzig defender Josko Gvardiol, with the club to try to sign him again in June 2023 reports Fichajes.

– Germany international forward Max Kruse's contract with Wolfsburg is set to be mutually terminated during the Bundesliga break, claims Sport.

– The Guardian reports that Lens head coach Franck Haise is under consideration for the vacant Brighton and Hove Albion managerial post, along with Bodo/Glimt's Kjetil Knutsen and ex-Shakhtar Donetsk boss Roberto De Zerbi.

Pep Guardiola does not like predicting the future.

Before a ball had been kicked this season, Manchester City's manager refused to solidify his team and Liverpool as favourites to push for the Premier League title again.

Based on Liverpool's underwhelming start to the campaign, perhaps Guardiola was right to hold off, and the City boss kept to the same tactic on Tuesday when asked if Erling Haaland – who has scored 12 goals in eight games in all competitions this season – could be the difference when it comes to the Citizens finally ending their wait for Champions League glory.

"I'm not able to know it," Guardiola said bluntly ahead of City's meeting with Haaland's former club Borussia Dortmund on Wednesday. "The team is playing well, so is he. But right now I don't know."

Where his manager had remained on the fence, Ilkay Gundogan – another former Dortmund star – was a little more forthcoming.

"We hope for it," City's captain told reporters when asked the same question. "Obviously having a proper number nine, proper striker, physically strong, determined is going to help us a lot, but we will see.

"Winning the Champions League is something incredible to achieve, a very tough competition; it's never easy and little details can decide the outcome. We'll try as hard as we can to go as far as possible."

Haaland's start to life in the Premier League has been nothing short of outrageous. He has netted 10 goals in six appearances, the joint-fastest player in the history of the competition to reach that tally, alongside Micky Quinn back in 1992. 

The 22-year-old wasted little time in transferring his domestic form to the European stage, too, scoring a double in City's 4-0 victory over Sevilla last week, and it is in the Champions League, not the Premier League, where City really need him to make the difference.

Only 36 players in Champions League history have scored more goals in the competition than Haaland, who has 25 from his 20 appearances in UEFA's flagship club tournament.

He is the first City player to score on both his Premier League and Champions League debuts for the club and the fourth player in the competition's history to score in his first appearance for three different teams (Salzburg, Dortmund and City), after Fernando Morientes, Javier Saviola and Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

Haaland's tally is the most by any player from their first 20 Champions League games, and should he score against Dortmund, he will be the second player to net in the competition both for and against the Bundesliga giants, after Ciro Immobile.

It was this kind of form that attracted City, who missed out on signing Harry Kane in 2021. 

With Sergio Aguero's availability becoming more limited as his time at City drew to a close, Guardiola enjoyed success without having to rely on a traditional striker. 

Although he enthused about Gabriel Jesus, who has made a blistering start at Arsenal, the Brazil international was often used out wide in the previous two campaigns, with Kevin De Bruyne, Bernardo Silva, Phil Foden, Raheem Sterling (now at Chelsea) and even Jack Grealish all filling in, at times, as a 'false nine' in Guardiola's fluid attack.

City won the league last season and the one before that. Indeed, four of the last five English titles have gone the way of Guardiola's side, and with or without Haaland, you'd have been brave to bet against them retaining the trophy this season.

Yet they have repeatedly fallen short in Europe. Having lost 1-0 to Chelsea – a team also utilising a false nine system – in the 2020-21 final, City last season had a plethora of chances to put their semi-final tie with Real Madrid to bed, only to lose after a remarkable comeback from Los Blancos in the second leg.

In Haaland, they have a player who should right those wrongs.

With De Bruyne, Silva, Foden and Co. providing the opportunities, Haaland was always bound to score, but his finishing has already exceeded expectations.

His 12 goals have come from shots with a cumulative expected goals (xG) value of 9.4. Essentially, he has scored close to three more goals than he would have been expected to, given the quality of chances he has been presented with.

Not that those opportunities have been particularly difficult ones, of course.

All of Haaland's 12 goals have come from 'big chances' – defined by Opta as an opportunity from which a player would be expected to score. 

No other player in Europe's top five leagues has had as many 'big chances' as Haaland, who has had 20 come his way including the Community Shield match against Liverpool in July. Neymar, who is flying high at Paris Saint-Germain, ranks second with 14. More evidence, perhaps, that he is the final piece of the puzzle in this incredibly creative City side. The player to see them over the line when push comes to shove.

City's top scorer in Europe last season was Gabriel Jesus, with four goals from six appearances. Haaland managed three in three, with injury limiting his minutes. Since he made his Champions League debut, for Salzburg in September 2019, only Robert Lewandowski (33) and Karim Benzema (26) have scored more goals in the competition. Both of those players have won the trophy in that time.

Guardiola might rightly refuse to predict the future, but one thing is for certain – with Haaland, City's chances of finally ending their wait for European glory look better than ever.

That is just what they bought him for.

Jude Bellingham has conceded he did not expect to become as influential for Borussia Dortmund as quickly as he has, crediting the club's coaches for helping his development.

The 19-year-old England international has become an integral part of Edin Terzic's side, starting 52 matches since the start of the 2020-21 campaign.

Moving to the Bundesliga two years ago from Championship outfit Birmingham City, Bellingham's rise has been meteoric – boasting 15 caps for England alongside his vast experience at club level.

While Bellingham has long been touted to become a star, he himself has admitted that things have moved far quicker than he ever anticipated.

"All of it has been a bit of a surprise - I didn't think I'd come here and have the impact that I've had as quickly," he said ahead of Wednesday's away Champions League clash against Manchester City.

"I thought I'd maybe have to wait a bit longer to get in the team and play a lot of minutes.

"But I've got to give credit to the staff, the coaches that I've had, Lucien Favre and Marco Rose, because they've thrown me into the deep end, given me the exposure, given me the chance to learn.

"I've got qualities that maybe I didn't know I had before I came, it's all down to them, giving me the trust and managing to get it out of me."

Bellingham and his Dortmund team-mates face a tough task against a familiar face in Erling Haaland, who left the club in the transfer window to join City.

Since moving to England, Haaland has been in blistering form with 12 goals in eight appearances across all competitions and Bellingham is not sure how the striker can be stopped.

"I'm not really sure to be honest, we'll have to find out [in the game]," Bellingham added. "He's a player with a lot of quality and a lot of physical attributes that make him so dangerous.

"It's not a thing that's an individual task, it's something the team has to deal with collectively. We stick together, try to do the right things without the ball, then it can be possible."

Pep Guardiola is happy to lean on the knowledge of Manchester City's former Borussia Dortmund players ahead of Wednesday's Champions League meeting with the Bundesliga club.

Dortmund head to Etihad Stadium for their fifth meeting with City in the Champions League.

The clubs previously faced each other in the 2012-13 group stage and the quarter-finals in the 2020-21 campaign. City have won three of those matches, with the other one finishing as a draw.

Ilkay Gundogan, Sergio Gomez, Erling Haaland and Manuel Akanji have all spent chunks of their career at Dortmund, with the latter two having signed for City from the German side earlier this year.

Akanji made his City debut in the 4-0 thrashing of Sevilla last week, a game in which Haaland scored twice, taking his tally for the season to 12 goals from seven appearances in all competitions.

Asked in a press conference if Haaland was excited about facing his former side, Guardiola said: "We spoke in general. Not [a] special [conversation]. Of course, we spoke about some of their players, what he thinks, but in the end it's the quality of the players tomorrow that make the difference."

Guardiola is more than willing to take on board the advice of his four former Dortmund players, however.

"Yes, they are intelligent, players know about football," he said. "Some specific players have doubts... they know them better than me. They were two, three years with them, they know much more than me. I could watch a thousand videos.

"Their systems, formations, are less important than the fact of like how is the manager, how they thought they played against us two years ago – they know it, they know better than me."

It has been a remarkable start to life in England for Haaland, who is the first City player to score on both his Premier League and Champions League debuts for the club.

Haaland has scored 25 goals in 20 Champions League appearances, the most by any player in their first 20 games in the competition. He netted 15 in 13 games with Dortmund and could become just the second player to score a goal in the tournament both for and against the German side, after Ciro Immobile.

Guardiola believes it is too early, however, to judge if the striker can be the difference when it comes to City ending their Champions League duck.

"I'm not able to know it," he said. "The team and he, [so far] are playing well but right now, I don't know."

Asked what Haaland can improve, Guardiola replied: "He's young, he's hungry, he will be a better player, it's going to happen.

"At 22, 23 years old he can be better, for sure. It's a connection with his team-mates, a question of time, he will become a better player."

Ilkay Gundogan does not believe Erling Haaland is nervous about facing former club Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League on Wednesday.

Haaland will line up against the team he left for Manchester City in June when Dortmund visit the Etihad Stadium for the Group G encounter.

The Norway international has scored 25 Champions League goals in 20 appearances, the most by any player in their first 20 games in the competition.

Fifteen of those came in 13 matches in the competition for Dortmund, and Haaland could become just the second player to score a Champions League goal both for and against the German side, after Ciro Immobile.

The smart money is on him doing so, given his remarkable start to life at City.

Haaland has 10 goals in just six Premier League games, that tally comprising two hat-tricks, and netted a brace in City's Champions League win at Sevilla last week.

Gundogan spent five years at Dortmund from 2011 to 2016 before joining City, helping the club win the Bundesliga and DFB-Pokal double under Jurgen Klopp in 2011-12.

But Gundogan expects the occasion to be more special for Haaland than for himself, though he senses no trepidation in the 22-year-old.

"No, I saw him very happy," Gundogan told a media conference when asked if Haaland was nervous. 

"He was sitting next to me and was very happy, he was asking me [how I felt]. We're both very excited to play our former team.

"For me it's more in the past, but for him it's going to be a lot more special because he'll know 95 per cent of the squad.

"I know a few players and really looking forward to the game here and in Dortmund, it's a special occasion for both of us."

Sergio Gomez and Manuel Akanji also formerly plied their trade at Dortmund, the latter joining in the most recent transfer window, and Gundogan does not believe it is possible for the quartet playing their former club to take the emotion out of the game.

"'I'm sure it’s impossible to take it out because we will have memories attached to Dortmund, I believe all four of us have mainly positive memories, so quite difficult to take emotions out completely," he added. 

"You deal with them in the best possible way, about using them in your favour, not to be over excited, keep calm and cool, which can be the most difficult thing in football."

City lost the Champions League final to Chelsea in 2021 and then fell victim to a comeback from Real Madrid in last year's semi-final.

"The most important thing is the margin of making mistakes, the little details that decide, especially in quarter-finals, semi-finals and final obviously, the margin is so tight that no mistakes are really allowed," Gundogan said of learning from those experiences. 

"The last few years the way we got knocked out was maybe a bit tragic in the way it happened, but I don't think we should regret anything, it's always an experience for us.

"It was incredible to play in the final, even if we lost it, it was an incredible experience. As a competitor you learn from it, try to get there again and do better. The target for the season is the same, reach the maximum and see what can happen."

Asked if Haaland can be the difference in this competition this season, Gundogan replied: "We hope for it. Obviously having a proper number nine, proper striker, physically strong, determined is going to help us a lot, but we will see.

"Winning the Champions League is something incredible to achieve, a very tough competition, it's never easy and little details can decide the outcome. We'll try as hard as we can to go as far as possible."

There was no shortage of thrills and spills on matchday one of the Champions League, and Wednesday's action promises more of the same as one of the world's most in-form strikers faces his former club.

Erling Haaland has made a spectacular start to his Manchester City career, hitting 12 goals in all competitions since his move from Borussia Dortmund, but how will he fare when his old team visit the Etihad Stadium? 

Elsewhere, Graham Potter will hope to have an immediate impact in his first game as Chelsea's head coach as they bid to bounce back from last week's 1-0 defeat to Dinamo Zagreb.

Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain, meanwhile, are among the favourites to be crowned European champions, and will both be hopeful of making it two wins from two outings.

Ahead of another intriguing set of European ties, Stats Perform trawls through the Opta data to highlight the most noteworthy facts for each game.

Manchester City v Borussia Dortmund

City striker Haaland netted 15 times in 13 Champions League appearances for Dortmund, and few would bet against the Norwegian haunting his former team on Wednesday.

Haaland helped himself to a brace at Sevilla last time out, bringing him to 25 Champions League goals in just 20 appearances – the highest tally managed by any player in their first 20 games in Europe's premier club competition. 

The visit of BVB will represent a landmark outing for City boss Pep Guardiola, taking him to 150 Champions League games. Only five other coaches have reached that tally, while only two have earned more victories than Guardiola's 94 – Alex Ferguson (102) and Carlo Ancelotti (99).

The omens are certainly good for the Premier League champions, who are unbeaten in their last 20 Champions League home games, winning 18 and drawing two. That represents the longest such sequence by an English side since Chelsea's run of 21 without defeat between September 2006 and December 2009.

Dortmund, meanwhile, have not won at an English side in the competition since beating Arsenal 2-1 in October 2013.

Chelsea v Salzburg

Defeat to Dinamo Zagreb spelled the end of Thomas Tuchel's Chelsea reign last week, and Potter is the man entrusted to ensure they avoid back-to-back continental defeats when Salzburg visit.

Chelsea have never previously lost their opening two games of a Champions League campaign, and last lost consecutive games in the competition in 2019-20, when they were beaten by Bayern Munich in both legs of a last-16 tie.

This will be the first meeting between Chelsea and Salzburg, with the Blues only losing one of their previous four European ties against Austrian teams (W1 D2). Salzburg, meanwhile, have never beaten an English side in European competition in six attempts (D1 L5).

But the Blues will have to be wary of Matthias Jaissle's young guns at Stamford Bridge, and may need to keep a particularly close eye on Noah Okafor. 

The 22-year-old has four goals in his last five Champions League outings for Salzburg – only Haaland (eight) has ever scored more for the club in the competition.

Real Madrid v RB Leipzig

Holders Madrid are looking to secure consecutive wins when they host RB Leipzig at the Santiago Bernabeu, and are unbeaten in their last 11 Champions League games against German opponents, scoring at least two goals in all of those matches (27 in total).

Leipzig, however, are unbeaten in their three European clashes with Spanish sides (W2 D1) and will be looking for a result comparable to their 2-1 quarter-final win over Atletico Madrid in 2019-20.

Los Blancos possess a remarkable amount of experience at the highest level; should Luka Modric feature, he will become the first 37-year-old outfield player to play a European Cup/Champions League game for Madrid since Ferenc Puskas in November 1965 against Kilmarnock.

Coach Ancelotti, meanwhile, is on the brink of his 100th win in the Champions League, and could become just the second boss to bring up such a century in the competition (after Alex Ferguson with 102).

Maccabi Haifa v Paris Saint-Germain

Kylian Mbappe scored a terrific brace to get PSG's European campaign off to a flying start against Juventus, and a trip to Maccabi Haifa gives him the opportunity to make club history.

The striker has scored 29 goals in 45 Champions League outings with PSG, scoring against 14 of the 17 opponents he's faced with the French champions. One more goal will see him level Edinson Cavani's record of 30 goals in the competition for the Ligue 1 side.

He could be aided by the in-form Neymar, who has provided eight assists for Mbappe in the Champions League, more than any player has assisted another in the competition since the start of 2017-18.

The final member of their revered forward trio, Lionel Messi, also has his eyes on making history.

Messi has scored against 38 different teams in the Champions League, the same amount as his great rival Cristiano Ronaldo, and will be keen to claim the record outright when he faces Maccabi for the first time on Wednesday.

Other fixtures:

Rangers v Napoli

1 – Wednesday's rearranged match will be the first competitive meeting between Rangers and Napoli. The Serie A side have only faced a Scottish team in European competition once before, exiting to Hibernian in the Fairs Cup in November 1967.

3 – Piotr Zielinski was directly involved in three of Napoli's four goals as they thrashed Liverpool last week (two goals, one assist). This is already his best campaign for goal contributions in the competition since joining Napoli.  

Milan vs Dinamo Zagreb

6 - Milan have failed to win any of their last six home games in the Champions League (D3 L3), their longest run without a home victory in the competition.

31.8 – Dinamo Zagreb had just 31.8 per cent possession against Chelsea on matchday one, the lowest of any team who managed to avoid defeat in their opening game.

Shakhtar Donetsk v Celtic

3 – Shakhtar's Mykhailo Mudryk was one of three players to be directly involved in three goals on matchday one (one goal, two assists), along with Robert Lewandowski and Zielinski.

1/13 - Celtic goalkeeper Joe Hart has only kept one clean sheet in his last 13 away Champions League games, with his last coming at Roma in December 2014 (for Manchester City).

Copenhagen v Sevilla

8 - Spanish sides are unbeaten in all eight of their Champions League games against Danish clubs (W6 D2) – only against sides from the Czech Republic (13) have Spanish teams appeared more often without defeat.

3/4 - Sevilla have lost three of their last four Champions League group-stage games (W1), as many as they lost in their previous 22 such matches (W10 D9).

Juventus v Benfica

2 - Juventus have lost their last two Champions League games. Only once in the history of the European Cup/Champions League have they lost three in a row, doing so between May 1968 and September 1972.

4 – Benfica's Alejandro Grimaldo has been involved in four goals in his last four Champions League games (one goal, three assists), more than he was in his first 27 games in the competition (two goals, one assist).