PHIL FODEN scored a last-gasp winner to steal the limelight off fellow starlet Erling Haaland.
City’s Champions League hopes were hanging by a thread after Dortmund’s Norwegian ace teed up an equaliser for Marco Reus.
But the England ace was determined to have the last laugh after missing a series of chances in the second half.
And he made no mistake in the 90th minute when Ilkay Gundogan rolled the ball into his path and he swept home.
Pep Guardiola’s side still have plenty to do in Germany next week as their opponents have a crucial away goal.
Yet with their away record they will back themselves to hang on and finally break the manager’s Champions League hoodoo.
He is trying to take City to the last four for the first time – having come up short in his last four attempts.
Each of their last three campaigns have ended at the quarter final stage, but this looked like a chance to put that right.
Dortmund are having a miserable season domestically and winning the tournament looks their best chance of being back in it next season.
Once again Guardiola opted to go without a striker, playing Bernardo Silva as the false nine.
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Perhaps that was a message to Haaland that there is a vacancy for him to fill if he moves to the Etihad this summer.
The Norwegian grew up supporting City – and Leeds – as his father Alfie played for them.
He was here as a spectator for a Champions League game against Feyenoord in 2017.
This one would have been a bit harder to swallow for the £150million-rated ace.
The visitors made a lively start as Jude Bellingham, 17, went round England team-mate Kyle Walker and got his shot away but Ederson was able to parry to safety.
But their early good work was undone when former Liverpool man Emre Can mis-placed a simple pass and suddenly De Bruyne was breaking through the middle.
He played the ball out to Foden whose low cross seemed just too far for Riyad Mahrez.
But the Algerian did not panic and laid the ball back for De Bruyne – the skipper for the night – to sweep home.
That means City have scored 18 times since they last conceded – the longest unanswered run in the history of the competition.
No wonder their veteran midfielder Fernandinho believes they finally have a look of potential winners after all these years of trying.
City thought they had a penalty minutes when a free-kick from the right saw Rodri go down under a challenge from Can.
The Spaniard was clutching his face – prompting the Romanian referee to give a spot-kick.
But having checked his screen he saw the contact – if there was any – was with the City man’s knee and there wasn’t enough of it.
It was rightly overturned and the Spain international was fortunate to escape a booking for simulation.
If Dortmund were grateful to the official there, they were cursing him a few minutes later.
Ederson came charging out of his area to clear a ball over the top but for once his first touch was poor.
Bellingham nicked the ball off him and rolled the ball into the empty net and the Brazilian keeper was mightily relieved to see a foul was given.
Replays showed he had got away with one there – yet there appeared to be no VAR check as the official had already blown his whistle.
Ref Ovidiu Hategen was in charge of the Paris Saint Germain-Istanbul Besaksehir game in December which had to be stopped due to a racism row involving Demba Ba and the fourth official.
It is fair to say he is not having the easiest of seasons in this competition.
Dortmund’s England winger Jadon Sancho tweeted: “This ref needs checking.”
Haaland had been lively in the first half without ever getting a chance but his big moment came soon after the re-start.
After seeing what damage a striker can do, Guardiola decided to throw one on himself – with Gabriel Jesus entering just before the hour.
And there was an interesting change made by the visitors too – with Gio Reyna thrown on.
Like Haaland his dad is a former City player. His dad Claudio played here in a slightly less memorable era in the noughties.
A golden chance went begging for the home side as De Bruyne got away down the right and squared for Foden.
The England man’s connection was true but his shot was too close to keeper Marwin Hitz who saved with his legs.
He dragged another shot wide of the far post after an energetic burst into the box and it was starting to look like it would not be his night.
At the other end, Marco Reus fired a free-kick into the wall and then planted the rebound disappointingly wide.
Against a team who had scored in their last 37 matches, City could not afford to relax.
And so it proved as Haaland became the creator when he turned a pass into the feet of Reus who finished smartly.
It looked like it would be advantage Dortmund – but Foden was having none of it and his goal could be huge.
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Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
