Hart produced superb point-blank saves from Raffael and Hermann and City breathed another sigh of relief when referee Clement Turpin gave nothing after Stindl went down in the area. Nicolas Otamendi levelled in contentious circumstances and Sergio Aguero secured the win with a late penalty of his own.
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The striker found acres of space inside the box, but had a tight angle for the shot and couldn’t quite curl his effort around the City stopper.
His goal completed a fine fightback by City to get their Champions League campaign up and running after going behind.
Martin Demichelis looked to have turned Kevin De Bruyne’s corner over the line and Korb shovelled the ball as far as Otamendi, whose rasping shot deflected into the net off Andreas Christensen.
Manuel Pellegrini’s men desperately needed a result tonight after falling short in their opening Champions League clash, and now the Premier League outfit are in good shape to continue their pursuit for a top-two spot.
He saved from Raffael’s 33rd-minute penalty – his second successive spot-kick stop in the Champions League after denying Lionel Messi last season.
Cristiano Ronaldo’s double took him past 500 career goals and handed Real Madrid a narrow 2-0 Champions League victory over Malmo in Sweden. Yaya Toure, who had been troubled by a hamstring problem since the weekend, had already left the fray at half-time. Raheem Sterling’s fifth-minute ball skidded towards the Argentine’s path but the finish gave Gladbach goalie Yann Sommer the chance to pull off a sharp save. A club synonymous with the 1970s and stars like Gunter Netzer, Uli Stielike and Allan Simonsen was one of the beneficiaries of Borussia Dortmund’s fall last season. It was the side’s first defeat under interim coach Andre Schubert, who had two wins after taking over from Lucien Favre. His team were inspired by a stadium full of noise and a veritable sea of green. Raffael made a 10th-minute counter after a De Bruyne fresh-air shot, and Patrick Hermann might have put Gladbach in front.
The Swiss midfielder impressed in Gladbach’s recent wins and he has no fear of facing Manchester City.
A soft City midfield was frequently exposed with neither Demichelis nor Otamendi, both lacking speed, comfortable on the back foot thanks to several fast Gladbach breaks.
City’s keeper was spared the task of stopping another penalty when Fernandinho somehow escaped punishment for clearly bringing down Stindl.
The outcome was familiar – the England goalkeeper excelling himself after Raffael sprung City’s flimsy high line – but Hart was finally beaten in the 54th minute.
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City obviously want to catch the eye in Europe but there must be better ways of doing it than wearing their “glow-in-the-dark” green away kit (as a few fans have called it) when it is not necessary.
