Norwegian Beast Net Two Goals! Manchester City Beat Porto Away, Haaland Ties Aguero's Champions League Record

In the opening round of the Champions League group stage, Manchester City delivered a clean 2-0 away victory over Porto, securing all three points. Norwegian striker Erling Haaland scored both goals in the match, bringing his Champions League career total level with Sergio Aguero and making him joint top scorer in Manchester City's history in Europe's premier competition. After the game, new signing Argentine midfielder Enzo Fernandez, who recently joined Manchester City from Chelsea for an English transfer record fee, described his attacking partner as a 'beast.'

Haaland's Champions League scoring record now stands at 59 goals in 59 appearances, 36 of which were scored during his time at Manchester City. This figure puts him level with Aguero at the top of the club's all-time Champions League scorers. This season Haaland has a completely new haircut, and he's fired on all cylinders in the Premier League as well, bagging 3 goals in his first three matches.

The first goal came in the second half, with Haaland slotting home at the near post following a pinpoint cross from Enzo Fernandez. This was Fernandez's Champions League debut since joining Manchester City. After the match, the Argentine World Cup winner said: 'Haaland is simply a beast. As long as he's on the pitch, I'll keep looking for opportunities to put him in the right position so he can score goals like he did today.' He also praised him saying: 'He's not only exceptional on the ball, but also an incredible person. He gave me the warmest of welcomes.'

The second goal came in stoppage time — Ryan Ait-Nouri delivered the pass, and Haaland tapped it in with his right foot, with the ball deflecting into the net. Porto became the 22nd different team Haaland has scored against in the Champions League.

Notably, in last season's Champions League campaign, Haaland scored 8 goals in 10 matches in excellent form, but Manchester City were eliminated by Real Madrid at the Round of 16. This season, Manchester City have started the Premier League with three straight wins, and Haaland himself hopes new head coach Enzo Maresca is pleased with the progress. Speaking about his new head coach, Haaland said: 'We won a tough game away from home. Looking at the atmosphere in the stadium, sometimes it feels almost unreal, so I hope he's happy with that.' He added: 'We have to keep learning and improving. Enzo sets very high demands on us, and we also need to set high standards with each other. At Manchester City, you have to win trophies — that's the job we have to do wearing the sky blue shirts.'

In the first half, Manchester City failed to break the deadlock early, with Porto goalkeeper Diogo Costa making multiple saves to repel Haaland's scoring attempts. However, with two second-half goals, the Norwegian striker ultimately guided his team to a full three points in Porto.