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Manchester City 3-1 Porto: Off to a winning start

By J.C. Gonzalez

Manchester City's German midfielder Ilkay Gundogan celebrates scoring their second goal from a free kick during the UEFA Champions League football Group C match between Manchester City and Porto at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester, north west England on October 21, 2020. (Photo by Tim Keeton / POOL / AFP) (Photo by TIM KEETON/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
Manchester City's German midfielder Ilkay Gundogan celebrates scoring their second goal from a free kick during the UEFA Champions League football Group C match between Manchester City and Porto at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester, north west England on October 21, 2020. (Photo by Tim Keeton / POOL / AFP) (Photo by TIM KEETON/POOL/AFP via Getty Images) /
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It wasn’t exactly vintage Manchester City under Pep Guardiola, but City opened their Champions League campaign with a win.

Manchester City’s latest European adventure got underway on Wednesday at the Etihad Stadium as Portuguese champions FC Porto visited. City went down a goal early due to a brilliant run and strike from Luis Díaz (as well as some lackluster defending), but managed two set-piece goals to find a 3-1 result.

City once again looked lethargic in possession for large stretches of the match, but much like the weekend’s effort against Arsenal, they did enough to get all three points. With Kevin De Bruyne injured, Sergio Agüero was forced to resume penalty duties after Raheem Sterling was taken out by the notoriously reckless former Real Madrid defender Pepe. Although it was not a convincing effort, the Argentine just put it past compatriot Agustín Marchesín to get City level and grab his 40th career Champions League goal. İlkay Gündoğan then hit a brilliant free kick gave the home side a lead they would not surrender, and it was the best the German has looked in some time.

Ferran Torres came on and made an instant impact, going on a run of his own before slotting home the third. Overall, it will go down as a good day at the office for Manchester City, opening their European account with three points, but this team still doesn’t seem to be in top form. Nevertheless, the results are all that matter, and after a poor start to the Premier League, City have grabbed back-to-back home wins against decent opposition.

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Elsewhere in the group, Olympiacos grabbed a 1-0 win over Marseille, but all three of Porto, Olympiacos, and Marseille are evenly matched enough to where I believe the battle for second place is far from decided. City will face the French outfit next before consecutive games against the Greeks.