Enzo Fernández and Erling Haaland Shine in Champions League Debut
Enzo Fernández walked into the Champions League with Manchester City and immediately aimed his passes – and his praise – at Erling Haaland.
By the end of the night in Porto, he was calling him an “animal” and a “beast.” Nobody in the Estádio do Dragão would have argued.
Haaland struck twice in the second half as City opened their European campaign with a controlled 2-0 win over FC Porto on Tuesday, pushing his remarkable Champions League record to 59 goals in 59 games. Same number of matches as goals. Same ruthless inevitability.
Those two strikes also hauled him level with Sergio Agüero as City’s all-time leading scorer in Europe’s elite competition, both now on 36. On the wider Champions League stage, he moved past Thomas Müller into seventh on the all-time list. Another night, another milestone.
Fernández to Haaland: debut connection
This was Fernández’s first Champions League appearance for City after his joint-British record move from Chelsea. It took him one meaningful cross to leave a mark.
For the opener, the World Cup winner drifted into space and whipped in a ball that begged to be finished. Haaland obliged, darting across his marker and turning it in from close range. Simple on the eye, brutal in its timing.
“Erling Haaland is an animal, a beast,” Fernández told Amazon Prime afterwards. “Every time I'm on the pitch, I'm going to look for him and hopefully I can give him many more assists and he can score goals like that.
“It's not just about the player he is -- he's an amazing human being as well and he has really welcomed me in [to the club].”
The words matched what everyone had just watched: a new midfield conductor instantly in tune with the most feared striker in Europe.
Porto pushed back, Haaland pushes on
Porto did not roll over. For a long spell, they frustrated City and their No. 9.
Diogo Costa stood between Haaland and his usual avalanche of goals in the first half, reading runs, throwing out strong hands, and keeping the game level as City probed and recycled attacks. The noise inside the stadium grew each time he denied the Norwegian.
The pressure eventually cracked them.
Deep into stoppage time, with Porto stretched and legs tiring, Rayan Aït-Nouri slid a ball into the box. Haaland needed just one touch of his right foot to redirect it past Costa. One movement, one finish, game done.
Porto became the 22nd different club he has scored against in the competition. Another line on a list that keeps growing.
Last season, Haaland hit eight goals in 10 Champions League matches before City fell to Real Madrid in the round of 16. This year, with a new haircut and the same cold streak in front of goal, he already looks in stride: three goals in three Premier League games, now two more in Europe.
Maresca’s perfect start
City have opened the Premier League with three wins from three, and now a clean sheet and victory away in Europe under new coach Enzo Maresca. The foundations could hardly be firmer.
“I hope he is pleased,” Haaland told Amazon Prime when asked about his manager. “We won away in a difficult game. Look at this atmosphere, it was unreal at times so I hope he's happy.”
Then came the reminder of the standards that define City.
“We have to learn. Enzo demands a lot from us and we have to demand a lot from each other. We have to win games because at Man City, you have to win trophies. That's what we have to do at this club.”
A new coach on the touchline, a record signing feeding passes from midfield, the same relentless No. 9 finishing moves and rewriting record books. If this is City still learning under Maresca, what happens when they truly click?
