FC Porto vs Manchester City Review
Erling Haaland’s header in the second half helped Manchester City kick off the League Phase of their UEFA Champions League (UCL) campaign with a 2-0 victory over Porto, who experienced their first home loss of 2026 in all competitions. City’s last trip to Estádio do Dragão had ended in defeat against Chelsea in the 2021 UCL final, and the passionate home supporters did their best to add to the difficult memories for Enzo Maresca’s team.
City aimed to silence the crowd by controlling possession from the beginning, but Gianluigi Donnarumma was the first goalkeeper to make a save, stopping Gabri Veiga’s near-post shot with his legs before the offside flag was eventually raised. The Cityzens had their first opportunity in the 21st minute when Phil Foden raced down the wing and delivered a cross to Haaland, whose powerful header was expertly pushed away by Diogo Costa. The Porto goalkeeper, who made five saves in the first half, then blocked Foden’s low shot and shortly after made an impressive double save to deny both Haaland and Rayan Cherki, drawing loud cheers from the home crowd.
The Porto supporters grew even louder when Veiga fell heavily after an aerial clash with Marc Guéhi, leaving Francesco Farioli frustrated during his Champions League managerial debut. Haaland finally succeeded less than two minutes into the second half, directing Enzo Fernández’s cross off the post to score his fourth goal in three games across all competitions, moving him into a tie for third place on City’s all-time top scorers list with 166 goals. This was only the second goal Porto had conceded in all competitions this season, but the Portuguese champions responded with their strongest period of play.
First, Donnarumma was saved by the offside flag after he fouled Pepê as the winger headed towards goal, then Alberto Costa narrowly missed with a header, and Alan Varela’s shot went just wide. The city team was shaky but managed to weather the storm, with Haaland scoring in stoppage time to become the club’s third-highest goalscorer ever across all competitions, reaching 167 goals.
This win marked Maresca’s first victory in a Champions League match as City’s manager, continuing the club’s strong record of winning their opening game in seven of the last eight seasons (with one draw). Meanwhile, Porto suffered their first home loss of 2026 and lost their perfect record across all competitions this season. Additionally, Porto have only won two of their last 17 matches against English teams, with four draws and eleven losses.
