Haaland brace moves him third on City's all-time list as Blues survive Porto storm

Erling Haaland’s second-half brace carried Manchester City to a Champions League victory in Porto, with the Norwegian now third on the club’s all-time scoring list after moving past Tommy Johnson to reach 167 goals.

Enzo Maresca’s side had to weather a fiery atmosphere — and a tunnel confrontation at half-time involving staff from both clubs — before Haaland headed home from an Enzo Fernandez cross just two minutes after the restart. The Argentine, signed for £125m this summer, settled quickly into his new surroundings alongside compatriot Enzo Maresca’s evolving midfield unit.

Maresca made a significant selection call before kick-off, dropping £116m signing Elliot Anderson to the bench in favour of Ayyoub Bouaddi, the 17-year-old Moroccan brought in from Lille for £81m. Bouaddi’s Champions League experience — he started his first game in the competition on his 17th birthday, a 1-0 win over Real Madrid — was cited as a factor in the decision.

Porto attempted to unsettle City throughout, pushing the referee to issue red cards to both Marc Guehi and Josko Gvardiol in separate incidents. Maresca withdrew Gvardiol shortly after the interval, which helped ease tensions, and Anderson and Iliman Ndiaye came on for the final half-hour to help see out the result.

The win carries added weight given City’s schedule in the league phase: reigning champions Paris Saint-Germain visit Manchester in the next round, with further away fixtures at Leipzig and Barcelona to follow. The consensus around the club is that 16 points will likely be needed to secure a top-eight finish and avoid the knockout play-off round.

Haaland, now 26 and serving as vice-captain this season, sits behind only Eric Brook and Tommy Johnson’s updated position on the all-time list — though Johnson has now been overtaken. City’s record goalscorer remains the focal point of a squad that has been almost entirely rebuilt in midfield over the summer, with Maresca deploying a different combination in every game so far.

With a £325m midfield investment now at his disposal and Haaland continuing to chase individual milestones, City will look to build on this result as they attempt to re-establish themselves as a force in Europe after what the club regards as at least two underperforming seasons.