Akanji's importance underlined
Pep Guardiola made six changes to his Manchester City side in Dortmund, with John Stones making his return from injury and Nathan Ake returning to the defence. Even with Ederson in reserve and the likes of Kevin De Bruyne and Bernardo Silva on the bench, it was telling that much of the reaction from supporters was questioning why Manuel Akanji wasn't in the starting line-up.
If that wasn't an indication of his importance to City's defence at present, it was telling that he was called upon at half-time to shore up a defence that had conceded four shots on target in the first 45 minutes. He went to right-back, Stones moved back into the centre, and he immediately calmed the back-four to cement his place as a first-choice starter going forward.
