City’s new UCL era starts with a win: No worries as long as Haaland is there

Manchester City's new Champions League era kicked off last night with a victory. After a decade, the Cityzens played a UCL game without Pep Guardiola in the dugout and did not impress, but still managed to beat Porto 2-0 at Estadio do Dragao.The last time the Manchester side played in the elite competition without the Spaniard was on May 4, 2016, when they lost the second leg of the semi-final away to Real Madrid 1-0, with the same scoreline deciding the tie on aggregate, led from the bench by Manuel Pellegrini.Football champagne at Bernabeu as Madrid beat Inter in Mou's UCL derbyIn the following decade, City experienced ups and downs, but eventually achieved the ultimate goal in 2023, when Pep and his lads claimed the Champions League trophy for the first time in the club's history.Now, with Maresca, they are about to write a new chapter.Against Porto, the Cityzens didn't shine. They struggled to turn their chances into goals – thanks to the outstanding Porto goalkeeper Diogo Costa – but their two goals from 10 shots on target ultimately proved enough, especially since the Dragons posed little threat at the other end, failing to register a single attempt on target.𝐏𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐨 𝟎-𝟐 𝐌𝐚𝐧 𝐂𝐢𝐭𝐲Erling Haaland's double did the damage for City, with the Norwegian moving to 59 Champions League goals from as many games.Porto failed to record a shot on target in a home UCL match for the first time since 2017. pic.twitter.com/jvJKht1W6Q— Opta Analyst (@OptaAnalyst) September 8, 2026 Despite the change in the dugout, one thing remains constant at City – Erling Haaland.The Norwegian beast was once again at his best, emerging as the hero and doing all the damage himself with a brace.A header two minutes into the second half and an easy finish in the first minute of stoppage time were enough to seal Porto's fate and send Haaland straight to the top of the Champions League scoring charts, level with Betis' Marc Bartra and Borussia Dortmund's Serhou Guirassy.In the next UCL round, on October 14, the Cityzens will host Paris Saint-Germain in a European classic, while Porto will travel to Seville to face Betis.UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUEROUND 1TuesdayAEK – LASK 1-0 (1-0) /Marin 21/Club Brugge – Aston Villa 2-3 (1-3)/Vetlesen 19, Tresoldi 61 pen – McGinn 11, Buendia 22, Jackson 43/Porto – Manchester City 0-2 (0-0)/Haaland 47, 90+1/Dortmund – Villarreal 3-2 (0-0)/Veiga 53 og, Guirassy 80, 85 pen – Mourino 66, Guirassy 90+3 og/Lille – Betis 2-3 (2-1)/Ueda 12, Ribeiro 36 – Bartra 33,49, Parrott 53/Real Madrid – Inter 2-1 (2-0)/Mbappe 14, Valverde 23 – Augusto 77/Wednesday19.45: (1.08) Barcelona (13.0) Feyenoord (20.0) 19.45: (1.23) Stuttgart (6.75) Viking (11.0) 22.00: (1.75) Liverpool (3.90) Atl.Madrid (4.50) 22.00: (4.90) Napoli (3.60) Arsenal (1.75) 22.00: (1.05) PSG (14.0) Slovan B. (35.0) 22.00: (1.90) Sporting (3.50) Galatasaray (4.10) Thursday19.45: (3.15) Fenerbahce (3.45) Roma (2.25)19.45: (1.43) PSV (4.60) Shakhtar (7.25)22.00: (1.10) Bayern (10.0) Bodo (16.0)22.00: (1.95) Como (3.50) RB Leipzig (3.90) 22.00: (1.10) Man.Utd. (11.0) Sabah (18.0) 22.00: (2.60) Slavia Praha (3.35) Lens (2.70)*** odds are subject to change***