Porto boss claims Guehi and Gvardiol should have been sent off in City's 2-0 Champions League win

Manchester City defeated Porto 2-0 in the Champions League on Wednesday, but Porto head coach Francesco Farioli argued the result could have been very different had referee decisions gone his side’s way, with Erling Haaland’s second-half brace ultimately settling the contest.

Farioli pointed to two separate incidents involving City defenders that he believed warranted red cards. The first came in the opening 45 minutes when Marc Guehi caught Porto midfielder Gabri Veiga with his elbow, leaving Veiga bloodied on the pitch. Replays appeared to support the contact, yet the referee took no further action beyond the initial challenge.

The second flashpoint arrived in the second half, when Josko Gvardiol — already on a yellow card — was substituted by Pep Guardiola for Abdukodir Khusanov after coming close to a second bookable offence. Farioli felt that decision, too, should have resulted in a dismissal.

“Yeah, I think so from the matches that I saw, I believe a card could have been given,” Farioli told Prime Video. “Of course, in that moment, it is a red. And as well, there was a moment with Gvardiol when he stopped an action after already being with a yellow card, it could have been a second one. At this level, at this stage, the opportunity to play the second half against ten men, or even nine at some point, it could have changed things.”

Despite his frustration with the officiating, the Porto manager was measured in his assessment of City, adding: “A lot of respect for the team that we play against.”

Haaland opened the scoring at the start of the second half before adding a second late on to give City a comfortable three points and get their Champions League campaign off to a winning start. For Porto, attention quickly turns to a weekend league fixture in Lisbon.

City, meanwhile, face a derby at Old Trafford on Sunday against Manchester United. Victory would extend their winning run to five consecutive matches since losing the Community Shield to Arsenal in August.