The Blues had Hart to thank for keeping the game alive with the England keeper at his brilliant best to repel some of the 32 shots Dortmund had with the hosts’ defence under siege at times.
“We should thank Joe this evening after this incredible performance because he saved everything,” he said.
“I’ve never seen Joe play better for City and it’s one of the best displays I’ve seen for many years. However, I am really disappointed with our overall performance in this game, but I know what the problem is and I will solve it very quickly.
“We were very poor tonight, but I think this point could be very important in what is a very tough group.
“We created a lot of chances and we could have had two or three goals in the first half, but when you are playing in the Champions League, you need to run, close down and defend better. Dortmund played that way but we created our own problems.
“Dortmund played better than us and at the moment are a better team than we are. We have good players, but Borussia are more experienced than us.”
Mancini also praised Mario Balotelli for keeping his cool when the pressure, adding: “I’m happy Mario scored the penalty – he is like Joe in that you know he is reliable in those situations. It was vital we took something from this game despite our performance.
“If we don’t improve it will be difficult to qualify. But this point could be like when we drew with Sunderland last season. We fought back, and at the end of the season it was important. This could be an important point.”
