By Opta Analyst | Created at 2026-09-08 22:37:22 | Updated at 2026-09-19 01:04:55
1 week ago
Erling Haaland was the difference as Manchester City got off to a winning start in the Champions League. Relive the game with our Porto vs Man City stats page.
Manchester City kicked off their Champions League campaign with a win as Erling Haaland scored twice in a 2-0 defeat of Porto at Estádio do Dragão on Tuesday.
Having opened their Premier League campaign with three consecutive wins, Enzo Maresca’s strong start to life in the City top job continued in Portugal.
And it was Haaland who made the difference again, having also scored Saturday’s winner against Coventry City. He followed up his 47th-minute header with a cool finish in stoppage time, taking his goal tally in the Champions League to 59, the seventh most of all time, from a mere 59 games.
After a tepid start, City took control of the match, with Antoine Semenyo cutting inside and forcing Diogo Costa into the first of several first-half saves.
Semenyo was involved again soon after as his incisive pass picked out Phil Foden. His cross was met by a towering Haaland header, but Costa was on hand to punch the ball behind.
The visitors’ grip continued to tighten and they should have taken the lead in the 32nd minute. Haaland’s right-footed shot was repelled by Costa, before the Porto goalkeeper sprung back to his feet to deny Rayan Cherki’s attempt on the rebound.
However, Porto’s resistance was broken two minutes after the restart, when Enzo Fernández’s cross was headed in off the left post by Haaland after Cherki did brilliantly to keep the ball in play before offloading to the Argentina midfielder.
Francesco Farioli’s side responded well to going behind, with Alberto Costa’s header across goal just evading a touch from Nehuén Pérez, before Alan Varela whipped a curling effort just wide of the target.
Maresca’s men were able to navigate that wave of Porto pressure, however, despite Gianluigi Donnarumma nearly being caught out when his clearance was closed down by William Gomes, and the away side came on strong in the closing stages.
Rayan Aït-Nouri fired wide, before Elliot Anderson saw a shot tipped over by Costa. The win was sealed in the 91st minute by the in-form Haaland.
After Mateo Kovacic recycled possession, he slipped in Aït-Nouri, who delivered for Haaland to pick out the bottom-right corner with a sweeping finish and get City off to a winning start in their quest for European glory.
Haaland Goes Level With Agüero After Deliviering Again for Man City
Ahead of kick-off, Maresca insisted Haaland will need to sit out some matches this season in order to get the best out of him, but he was required here to help City extend their solid start to life after Pep Guardiola.
Haaland’s first goal came at a crucial time, just one minute and 34 seconds after the interval. It also continued his exceptional scoring streak in the competition for City; he has now scored 36 Champions League goals in 40 appearances since joining the club, matching the club record set by Sergio Agüero.
Since 2022-23, only Kylian Mbappe (38), who scored in Real Madrid’s 2-1 win over Inter, has more than Haaland’s 36 goals in the competition, although Maresca will also be pleased by the defensive aspect of his team’s performance.
Porto were caught offside seven times, which was more than in their previous seven matches combined in major European competition, while they also failed to register a shot on target from the five attempts they had.
Furthermore, there was an impressive display in midfield from Ayyoub Bouaddi. He won possession seven times, the most by a player aged 18 or younger on his Champions League debut for a club since Antonio Silva for Benfica against Maccabi Haifa in September 2022 (nine).
City were good value for their win. They finished with an expected goals (xG) total of 2.31 from their 20 attempts, of which 10 were on target, compared to Porto’s mere 0.22. The Manchester derby is up next for Maresca.
Our Opta match centre delivers you all the Porto vs Man City stats from their Champions League meeting at the Dragão on Tuesday.
The match centre below includes team and player stats, expected goals data, passing networks, an Opta chalkboard and more. It gives you everything you need to do your own match analysis.
Underneath the match centre you can find the official Opta stats on the game as well.
Porto vs Man City: Post-Match Opta Facts
- Manchester City’s Erling Haaland has scored 42 goals in 39 appearances in the group stage/league phase of the UEFA Champions League, the most of any player since his first season in the competition in 2019-20.
- Porto have now lost 21 matches against English sides in the UEFA Champions League – the most defeats any club has suffered to opponents from a specific nation in the competition.
- Porto have lost their first match in four of their last seven UEFA Champions League seasons (W1 D2), this after only losing their opener in three of their first 21 campaigns in the competition beforehand.
- Manchester City have won the first match of their UEFA Champions League campaign in seven of the last eight seasons (D1 – v Internazionale in 2024-25) since a 1-2 loss to Lyon in 2018-19.
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