New season, new Man City, same old Haaland

The UEFA Champions League began a new season with a new-look Manchester City under new manager Enzo Maresca. But in their 2-0 victory over Porto, the hero was a familiar one  'Erling Haaland'.

Maresca has taken charge of City after Pep Guardiola’s long reign, inheriting a difficult task. However, there was little sign of pressure in City’s Champions League opener. The visitors dominated from the start at Porto and eventually Haaland made the difference.

Porto goalkeeper Diogo Costa kept Haaland at bay in the first half, producing a superb save to deny his powerful header before frustrating the Norwegian striker again with another pair of saves. City went into the break without a goal, but they had already made it clear that Porto were under sustained pressure.

Haaland finally broke the deadlock shortly after the restart. Enzo Fernandez delivered a cross into the box and Haaland headed the ball towards goal. It was not the most powerful effort, but Costa was wrong-footed as the ball rolled into the bottom corner to make it 1-0.

The goal appeared to wake Porto up. The hosts began to regain some control and City’s defence came under pressure. On one occasion, Gianluigi Donnarumma came out of his goal and brought down Pepe. Porto could have been awarded a penalty had Pepe not been offside. Later, Donnarumma’s clearance struck William Gomes and narrowly avoided going into the net.

But Porto could not find an equaliser, and Haaland had the final say.

Deep into stoppage time, Haaland received a cross from Rayan Ait-Nouri and calmly finished to make it 2-0.

The brace took Haaland’s Champions League tally to 59 goals in 59 appearances. He already holds the records for reaching 20, 30, 40 and 50 Champions League goals in the fewest matches. He is now just one goal away from becoming the fastest player to reach 60.

Haaland also scored his 167th goal for Manchester City, moving him into third place on the club’s all-time scoring list.

Other results: Borussia Dortmund 3-2 Villarreal; Lille 2-3 Real Betis.

After the match, Haaland said City had handled the pressure of playing on the biggest stage and fulfilled their responsibilities.

“These are the matches you have to win. Otherwise, suddenly all the pressure is on you. Then nobody knows what will happen,” he said.

-HIS