City should not lose sight of the bigger picture here - a winning start to their continental exploits, a tougher-than-expected opponent tamed for the reward of three points in Group C - but that late exit for Fernandinho will have taken the gloss off. Pep Guardiola may be regretting his choice to throw an older, more injury-prone player on late in a game that looked wrapped up; it's a tactic that pays off nine times and then backfires in these freakish ways on the other one.occasion. Let's hope it's nothing too serious for the veteran playmaker.
A sublime Ilkay Gundogan free-kick and a Ferran Torres curler proved to be more than enough to secure the goods for Manchester City as the pair's second-half strikes snagged their side the three points at home against a spirited Porto in the Champions League - but it may have come at a cost for Pep Guardiola's side after Fernandinho pulled up late on. The Blues had struggled to pick the locks of their stubborn visitors after the restart until a golden set-piece chance fell their way - and the young substitute's fine top-corner finish sealed the deal in an enjoyable match. The hosts are on their way in another European campaign; full-time at the Etihad Stadium, it finishes Manchester City 3-1 Porto.
90' + 5' FULL-TIME: MANCHESTER CITY 3-1 PORTO
90' + 2' Is this a problem for City? Fernandinho has barely been on and his game looks like it could be over. It's not a second yellow but worse news - the Brazilian seems to have pulled up clutching his leg in clenched agony. Something is wrong for him there. Pep Guardiola turns away in frustration.
89' It's cruise control time for City as Sterling simply jogs down the touchline with the ball. Porto are refusing to fold into their shell, but their hosts are simply just strolling now.
87' Nakajima whips a cross in off the left edge that just skims beyond Marega near the far edge of the six-yard area. Porto will be disappointed, having held the score level for so long, to have allowed this result to get away with them.
83' Rodri from distance! A Pepe-Sterling clash again sees the two come together and while they are involved in a minor scuffle, the City midfielder lets launch with a 30-yard effort that smashes the woodwork, tipped just onto it by Marchesin.
82' If the eyes do not deceive, Porto have four in attack right now. They might as well go for broke at this stage, of course. The problem is that they are ripe to be countered - and Mahrez sees a shot saved with quick reflexes by Marchesin on the back of such a deceptively fast break.
79' Sarr looks to be down with cramp for Porto now and the visitors may be forced to make their fifth and final change with just over 10 minutes on the clock.
75' This isn't over - if football this season has shown us anything, it is that it is never over - but City will probably feel confident about having secured a winning start here. It's what they deserve, but Pep Guardiola will still have some questions for his side.
72' There's been more than 500 passes by City today. Porto have mustered well under half that many, with just over 200. They might have been passed into submission in the end here.
70' To say the cards have flown liberally tonight, Rodri has just escaped without a booking for a particularly roughhouse attempt of his own. We're into the last 20 minutes, plus injury time to come.
66' Gundogan was reportedly one of the City players set to be subbed off before that free-kick. If he is now, then he has left his mark. He's been one of their better performers tonight. Sergio Conceicao looks less than satisfied with that finish on the touchline.
63' There's action on the City bench, with Phil Foden among those moving around. Vieira is flagged for a foul on Gundogan on the edge of the visitors' box now and the Blues have a dangerous free-kick opportunity. Can this set-piece be their answer?
61' Manafa and Vieira string together a lovely one-two to get around Garcia at the back of the City defence, only for the former's cut-back to leave much to be desired as it falls at the feet of Dias.
59' Now City are flagged for handball - and on the Porto penalty spot no less. Aguero is the guilty party, trying to control a cross from Walker who tore down the right wing with a blistering show of pace to make that delivery. An opportunity comes and goes. How many more will there be in the final half-hour?
57' Oh, that's a bit unfortunate for Corona. The Porto man concedes a free-kick 30 yards out from his own goal for a handball, having managed to head an attempted clearance down onto himself. It's a tough call, but City are ultimately unable to stick their landing as Rodri puts Gundogan's set-piece wide of the right post.
54' Diaz is released on another run down the left flank for Porto, though this one comes to nothing in the end. Both sides are being pulled wider now, opening up - which is likely better news for City than it is the visitors and their attempts to keep their wings compact.
52' City win the first corner of the half after Mbemba is pressured to clear out a ball tucked into his box. Cancelo looks to whip in a strike from a short play, outside the penalty area, but he puts it straight into Marchesin's gloves.
50' Walker is almost caught napping as he tracks down a throw-in inside his own box and nearly plates up the ball for Vieira in front of the box. Down the other end, Gundogan wrestles a difficult ball with a half-volley that forces a testing save from Marchesin. Chances at both ends.
48' In fairness to the visitors, the hosts have been made to work, even with their large share of the ball. Guardiola has made no changes yet; you have to assume he is considering what options he could bring off the bench to open this tie up in his favour.
46' We're back underway for the second half at the Etihad Stadium. Can City turn their statistical advantage into one on the scoreboard? Or will Porto continue to frustrate their best-laid plans?
Pep Guardiola will surely be the most animated man in the building right now - except, perhaps, for his opposite number Sergio Conceicao. The former will be not happy with the way his side conceded that opener and the way they have switched off on occasion since - while the latter will likely want to see his side hold their own in terms of possession more. Plenty to play for here.
A typically strident Sergio Aguero penalty, confirmed by a borderline VAR call, means Manchester City are on level terms at the break against Porto in the Champions League, after the visitors took the lead through a blinding solo effort from Luis Diaz. The Blues have dominated the ball by and large, but they've been unable to crack the code in front of goal themselves and prevent the fast-paced counters that have occasionally threatened a sometime soggy defence. It hangs in the balance; at half-time, it's Manchester city 1-1 Porto.
45' + 3' HALF-TIME: MANCHESTER CITY 1-1 PORTO
45' + 2' Sanusi and Walker are having an excellent ding-dong so far on that flank, if not quite as vocal as the one their managers appear to be on the cusp of having. That could prove crucial after the break.
45' We're getting three minutes of injury time, which seems... lenient, to be honest. The VAR decision alone took more than that.
43' Kyle Walker has saved his side's bacon! Porto, out of nothing, cut through the City box, and with a square ball to Marega, look to have found their second, with Ederson caught out. Yet the defender somehow gets his feet on it near the goal-line and back-heels it to safety. A superb stop by the right-back.
42' City have dominated the ball so far, with 75 per cent of possession. They've not yet missed a golden chance though - and they're possibly lucky to be level.
40' A misplaced header in midfield allows City to break dangerously again and Mahrez sees his strike deflected by Sarr, The subsequent corner results in less pressure this time around as the defender immediately hoofs the ball downfield and away from immediate danger.
38' Bernardo wins something of a lucky corner now as Sanusi fails to keep his wayward ball in. A glancing header from a Porto player takes the ball away to the edge of the box and after some sharp play around the area, Mahrez pulls it back for Aguero, only for Mbemba to intercept and clear.
32' Sanusi! A Mbemba-sparked break for Porto sees the former whip a cross in from the left edge of the box that almost perilously beats Ederson to the right corner. Pep Guardiola takes this moment to have a heated chinwag with captain Sterling on the touchline.
30' City are starting to find the going a little more tough going forward, and they're starting to try and spread their attack as wide as they can. Aguero hasn't quite recovered his pre-injury pace and it is showing on the break.
26' Take a straw poll and City and Porto would probably be considered the two sides to make it out of Group C this season, over Olympiacos and Marseille. The knockout stages would be not short on excitement if they can repeat that spell there though.
24' That was a mad 10 minutes, wasn't it? City appear to have brought a touch of the Premier League's current propensity for passages of absolutely ludicrous play to the European stage.
22' Uribe! That could have been 2-1 to Porto! Ederson taps out an absolute howler of a ball straight to the Porto man on the edge of the box and, perhaps not realising the space he found himself in, he pulls the trigger hastily and blazes it over with just the keeper to beat. City have switched off at the back a few times too many for Pep Guardiola's liking.
19' VAR is still having a look at this, with the question lingering over whether there was a stomp from Gundogan on Marchesin. It's borderline, but City have just got away with it - the penalty stands! Sergio Aguero will be the man to take.
17' What on earth have Porto done here? It's a penalty to Manchester City, as Pepe collides with Raheem Sterling at the back of a crazy few seconds of play around the visitors' box. Gundogan wrong-foots the defence and then appears to take out the keeper Marchesin before he attempts to shoot. It comes off the post and falls back into play, whereupon Sterling is barged to the floor. The referee has awarded the spot-kick but VAR will have a look.
16' Porto have become something as a popular pick-and-mix shop stop for bigger European clubs and Luis Diaz has just put himself in the window for the new year with that brilliant solo effort.
13' City head the resultant set-piece out as far as Diaz, who tries to curl a distant effort into the top-right corner from distance and sends it skimming out of play. A first look at goal for Porto that suggests a touch of promise.
12' Mbemba is nearly found out by Cancelo, who is causing so much nuisance for Porto in these early exchanges. It's pretty much been one way traffic in favour of the hosts - though they do concede a corner now after Garcia has to defuse a Marega break.
10' Corona with the stop again! The defender tracks down a Cancelo ball tipped into the box for Sterling to race after and, in conjunction with his keeper Marchesin, manage to snuff out the danger. City are enjoying that line so far. Mahrez is penalised for a foul on a few moments later, for a push in the Porto box on Sarr.
8' It's a particularly condensed group stage this season thanks to the coronavirus pandemic, and questions will linger over how much of a psychological blow the wrong result could be in these early stages. Porto are, as they were years ago in 2004, underdogs in this competition, but they may hope they can reach the knockout stages once more.
6' City have not quite been the all-conquering side at home this term in domestic competition - new boys Leeds held them to a madcap draw - but they know how to turn on the press with clinical regularity. Sterling surges forward, and Corona again just manages to win the tussle as the England man bears down on him.
4' This Porto back-three, anchored around the veteran Pepe, faces some stern tests tonight, perhaps no more so than Chelsea loanee Malang Sarr. He's one of a clutch of Premier League faces in the frame for the Portuguese club tonight and will be hoping to impress.
2' City are joint-favourites alongside incumbent holders Bayern Munich this season to finally get their hands on the trophy, and they'll be determined to lay down a marker on home soil. Cancelo rumbles forward down the flank, and Corona dislodges him as he approaches the visitors' box.
1' We are underway in this Champions League clash between Manchester City and Porto!
The teams have emerged at the Etihad Stadium for the Champions League anthem. Never gets old, this tune. Never.
The fact Pep Guardiola, with all of his skills and resources, has not been able to match Manuel Pellegrini's success in this competition with City remains a significant stick with which his detractors like to try and hit him with. This is his fifth season in charge - longer than he's spent anywhere else. It could be the dealbreaker for his legacy at the club, this time.
The last time these two sides met was in another European tie, in the 2011-12 Europa League. In that instance, City won on both occasions, by a 6-1 aggregate margin. Can Porto score a spot of belated revenge here?
Subs: Diogo Leite, Mamadou Loum, Mehdi Taremi, Shoya Nakajima, Marko Grujic, Wilson Manafa, Romario Baro, Felipe Anderson, Toni Martinez, Evanilson, Nanu, Diogo Costa.
PORTO (3-4-2-1): Agustin Marchesin; Chancel Mbemba, Pepe, Malang Sarr; Jesus Corona, Sergio Oliveira, Mateus Uribe, Zaidu Sanusi; Fabio Vieira, Luis Diaz; Moussa Marega.
Subs: John Stones, Oleksandr Zinchenko, Zack Steffen, Ferran Torres, Fernandinho, Scott Carson, Phil Foden, Felix Nmecha, Tommy Doyle, Taylor Harwood-Bellis, Cole Palmer, Adrian Bernabe.
MANCHESTER CITY (4-3-3): Ederson; Kyle Walker, Ruben Dias, Eric Garcia, Joao Cancelo; Bernardo Silva, Rodri, Ilkay Gundogan; Riyad Mahrez, Sergio Aguero, Raheem Sterling.
There may be no Kevin De Bruyne, Aymeric Laporte, Benjamin Mendy or Gabriel Jesus for Guardiola tonight, but his City side isn't short of firepower, with Sergio Aguero leading a promising attack on paper. Porto meanwhile have left Mehdi Taremi and Shoya Nakajima on the bench, but they have keys of their own to unlock the opposition defence if they can.
Unlike their hosts, Sergio Conceicao's Dragons have enjoyed a more illustrious affiliation with this tournament, having won the trophy in 2004 following a remarkable underdog run to the final. They were famously coached by one Jose Mourinho then, and defeated a Monaco side coached by Didier Deschamps - but much as City in recent years, they've been no further than the last eight, most recently in 2019 when they fell to eventual champions Liverpool.
It's been just under a decade since the Blues first found themselves above the upper echelon's of the continent's best sides, and four years since two-time winner Pep Guardiola arrived at the helm. Yet in that time, the Spaniard has never been able to better their best result, achieved in 2015-16 when they reached the semi-finals. Instead, he's guided them no further than the quarter-finals. Can he break his own curse this term?
Hello and welcome to live coverage of the 2020-21 UEFA Champions League, as Premier League heavyweights Manchester City kick off their latest pursuit of European success against Primeira Liga title holders Porto at the Etihad Stadium.
