Erling Haaland headed home in the second half as Manchester City opened their UEFA Champions League campaign with a 2-0 victory over Porto, handing the Portuguese side their first home defeat of 2026 in all competitions.

City returned to the Estadio do Dragao, the scene of their defeat to Chelsea in the 2021 Champions League final. The home supporters created an intense atmosphere as Porto looked to make life difficult for Pep Guardiola’s side.

The visitors quickly took control of possession, although Gianluigi Donnarumma was forced into the first save of the night. He used his legs to keep out Gabri Veiga’s effort at the near post, before the offside flag was eventually raised.

Manchester City’s first clear opportunity came in the 21st minute. Phil Foden raced towards the byline before delivering a cross towards Haaland, whose powerful header was superbly tipped over by Diogo Costa.

Costa continued to keep Porto in the contest, making five saves during the opening 45 minutes. The goalkeeper then comfortably gathered a low effort from Foden before producing another outstanding double save moments later to deny both Haaland and Rayan Cherki.

The home crowd erupted again when Gabri Veiga went down after an aerial challenge with Marc Guehi, with Porto’s bench furious over the incident on Francesco Farioli’s Champions League managerial debut.

Haaland finally found the breakthrough less than two minutes after the restart. The Norwegian striker met Enzo Fernandez’s cross and guided his header against the post and into the net, giving City the lead.

The goal was Haaland’s fourth in his last three appearances across all competitions and moved him level in third place on Manchester City’s all-time scoring list with 166 goals.

It was only the second goal Porto had conceded in all competitions this season, but the Portuguese champions responded strongly and produced their best spell of the game.

Donnarumma was initially spared by the offside flag after bringing down Pepe as the winger raced towards goal. Alberto Costa then came close with a header that narrowly missed the post, while Alan Varela sent another effort just wide.

Manchester City were beginning to look vulnerable, but they managed to withstand Porto’s pressure. Haaland then put the result beyond doubt in stoppage time, calmly finishing to move up to third on City’s all-time scoring chart with 167 goals in all competitions.

The victory gave Maresca a winning start in his first Champions League match in charge of City. The result also extended their impressive record of winning their opening game in the competition in seven of the last eight seasons, with the other result being a draw.

For Porto, the defeat ended their unbeaten home run in 2026 across all competitions and brought an end to their perfect start to the season. The Portuguese champions have also now won just two of their last 17 meetings with English opposition, alongside four draws and 11 defeats.