Maresca used his new £325 million midfielder as Manchester City kept their cool to claim a crucial Champions League victory. Tempers flared in the tunnel at half-time as Porto were furious over a series of decisions, but Erling Haaland came on to score a second-half brace as City fought for victory. Maresca has mixed up his midfield in every game this season and here he made the big decision to bench £116m player Elliot Anderson and hand Ayoub Bouaddi his first start since his £81m move from Lille this summer. The Moroccan may be the younger of the two but, importantly, he has more Champions League experience, starting his first game in the competition on his 17th birthday in a 1-0 win over Real Madrid.
Even though City are only at the start of a new era, their manager knows they need immediate results and nowhere is that more important than in Europe, where the race for the 16 points likely needed to secure a top-eight finish has already begun. Reigning champions Paris Saint-Germain face Manchester in the second round of fixtures, with tougher matches ahead in Leipzig and Barcelona, City really needed a result in Porto.
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Manchester City celebrate Erling Haaland’s first goal against Porto