Porto 0-2 Manchester City: City survive stern test to end Porto’s 9-month unbeaten home record

Manchester City managed to record only their 3rd victory in their last 10 away matches in Europe to beat FC Porto 2-0.

The headline team news was that the 18-year-old Moroccan midfielder Ayyoub Bouaddi made his first start alongside the £125 million Enzo Fernandez in midfield.

Bouaddi, alongside his Manchester City teammates were largely frustrated throughout the first half as they had plenty of the ball but couldn’t penetrate through the stubborn Porto defence. 

Not much happened with both sides' reluctance to take risks.

As the first half progressed, City took control, limiting Porto to zero shots in the half, and if not for the formidable Diogo Costa, then the Citizens would have been a couple of goals up heading into the break.

 Firstly, Diogo Costa denied an Erling Haaland header and then a few minutes later after some excellent link-up play from Rayan Cherki and Phil Foden, he was there yet again to deny Foden.

Costa's most impressive contribution was his double save in the 31st minute to yet again keep out Haaland before quickly springing up to deny Cherki, which was already his fifth save of the match.

The first half ended chaotically as Marc Guehi collided with Gabri Veiga, which left the Spaniard down with a face full of blood.

 Porto were furious as they believed that Guehi led with an elbow and were demanding a red card, which wasn’t given.

If the first half could be described as a chess match, the second began much more like a cup final as City exploded out of the blocks, and within the opening two minutes, some sharp play from Foden who managed to switch the play out to Fernandez who picked out a delightful cross for Haaland to head home.

That goal seemingly woke up the Dragões as they increased their tempo and pressing. City became sloppy, which is something especially in Europe that you can’t afford to do, as teams possess higher quality in forward areas that will see you punished. 

Gianluigi Donnarumma was nearly the victim of this as he took far too long on the ball, which was nearly capitalised on by William Gomes, whose interception rebounded just wide of goal.

Porto's best chance came in the 57th minute as Alan Varela picked up the ball on the edge of the box and unleashed a thunderous effort that just narrowly went past the right post.

Enzo Maresca clearly was concerned as he used all 5 substitutions to try and bring some tempo and composure into the game, with most notably Elliot Anderson coming on.

Francesco Farioli’s side continued to push for that equaliser but ultimately were caught with a sucker punch as Rayan Ait Nouri managed to find himself in space on the left-hand side of the box and picked out Haaland, who slotted home convincingly to seal the three points for the Cityzens.

Farioli remained upbeat despite the defeat, saying: “I think this team proved to have a fantastic spirit and to have big courage.”

Maresca was happy with the performance whilst acknowledging there is still room for improvement; he said: “I think we could have scored more goals, especially in the first half. But overall we deserved to win the game.”

Up next, Porto travel to Lisbon to take on Casa Pia whilst Man City have a mouth-watering showdown with neighbours Manchester United in the derby on Sunday, who did manage to defeat City dominantly in the same fixture last season and are desperate for victory after their relatively poor start to the season.

This makes Sunday’s game at Old Trafford a must-watch.