Torres goal puts seal on City victory after early Porto fright
MANCHESTER CITY were a bit battered and bruised but ultimately beat Porto at Etihad to make a winning start to their Champions League campaign.
There was more than a bit of bite to it – with five City bookings and several flashpoints.
Porto took the lead when some abominable defending allowed for Luis Diaz to make a wonderful individual run and establish an early lead. A Sergio Aguero penalty quickly restored parity though Porto did well to contain Guardiola’s players until their resistance was finally broken by two second-half goals – an Ilkay Gundogan free-kick and a fine Ferran Torres (right) strike.
The first half was evenly-matched and ill-tempered. Porto set up in the same way as many teams which visit the Etihad – deep, defensive and looking to break upfield quickly.
The difference was Sergio Conceicao’s side had the speed and the power to hurt Guardiola’s charges.
Even so, City could only blame themselves for conceding the opening goal.
A stray pass by Ruben Dias allowed his namesake Luis to collect possession out on the left wing and cut inside towards goal entirely unopposed.
Limp tackle attempts from Rodri and Joao Cancelo let Diaz through on goal and he finished expertly across Ederson and into the far corner.
At least City did not need to wait long for an equaliser, even if there was a prolonged VAR check after Pepe had barged into Raheem Sterling with his typical grace three minutes later.
Gundogan had stood on goalkeeper Agustin Marchesin’s shin in the build-up, moments before striking the post.
The decision could have gone either way but went City’s and Aguero’s spotkick beat Marchesin by inches.
Without the injured Kevin De Bruyne or the departed David Silva, Guardiola’s side were struggling to create and needed a bit of luck.
It came in the form of a foul by Fabio Vieira. The Porto midfielder took the ball but also caught Gundogan, who made sure to take full advantage.
There was something De Bruyne-esque about the free-kick which followed, expertly bent out of Marchesin’s reach and into the top left-hand corner.
Guardiola was waiting to introduce Torres and Phil Foden as he watched Gundogan’s free-kick fly in. He persisted with the substitution and it brought him a third goal when the pair combined with a neat one-two down the left flank. Torres then cut inside and curl past Marchesin.
There was still time for a worrying injury to Fernandinho, who left the pitch shortly after coming on. Fortunately, by that point, the battle had already been won. (© Independent News Service)