Ferran Torres celebrates with teammate Phil Foden after scoring his side’s third goal in Manchester City’s Group C opener against FC Porto on Wednesday
Manchester City came from behind to make a winning start in Group C of the Champions League on Wednesday with a 3-1 win over Porto at the Etihad Stadium
City had fallen behind thanks to a nice solo strike from Luis Diaz in the 14th minute, but a penalty from Sergio Aguero brought them back to level before goals from Ilkay Gundogan in the second half and Ferran Torres guaranteed victory
Pep Guardiola’s side, beaten in the quarter-finals last season, struggled to find fluidity in the opening 45 minutes, but as Porto tired after the break City’s quality worsened. proven sufficient
Sergio Agüero has now scored 40 Champions League goals in 72 games ⚽ #UCL picTwittercom / BbaTRcLuYS
« Fernandinho left at the end, we have players playing in different positions I’m not there 100% because I had Covid, we’re not all at the same time
« That’s the challenge this season, it’s not going to end for a while, » he added
Porto took the lead when City’s Ruben Dias, a recent Benfica rookie, gave the ball away and Colombia winger Diaz cut from the left, burst diagonally through City’s defense and shot in the lower corner of Ederson’s goal
The home side were soon back on the same level when, after Gundogan hit the post, Porto defender Pepe grabbed Raheem Sterling in the scramble that followed and Aguero converted the penalty which followed
City were far from the smoothest, but they took the lead in the 65th minute with a perfect free kick and Gundogan curling over the wall and out of the reach of Porto goalkeeper Agustin Marchesin
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Substitutes Torres and Phil Foden then teamed up to make the score 3-1, with the Spaniard collecting a return pass from the England midfielder before slipping into space and launching a right-footed shot into the farthest corner
Brazilian midfielder Fernandinho de City, hired in the 85th minute, limped in the stoppage time with what appeared to be a muscle injury
Porto remain winless in 21 games in England, a race that saw them score just three draws
Liverpool beat Ajax Amsterdam 1-0 away with a goal against their lucky side in their Champions League group stage opener on Wednesday, sometimes taking advantage of luck but showing always its references to the title
Ajax full-back Nicolas Tagliafico turned the ball into his own net in the 35th minute to secure a winning start in Group D for the English champion, who seemed the stronger of the two teams despite being Ajax have created several good chances at the Johan Cruyff Arena
Davy Klaassen hit the post with a powerful shot and Quincy Promes had a point blank effort stopped by the legs of Liverpool goalkeeper Adrian as the Dutch club created a handful of excellent opportunities
Still, Liverpool, who won their sixth Champions League title in 2019, have always proven their worth for victory, dominating possession and counterattacking to pace while keeping a clean sheet despite missing defensive talisman Virgil van Dijk, who suffered a serious knee injury at the weekend
Fabinho moved from midfielder to central defense to replace Van Dijk and had an exceptional game, including snagging a clearance from the line to deny Dusan Tadic just before half-time
It was one of the many opportunities for Ajax in the first half, as Lisandro Martinez had a header saved by Adrian and Ryan Gravenberch shooting narrowly, much to the chagrin of Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp, who spent the first part of the match reprimand and shout instructions to his players
But his restlessness was assuaged when Sadio Mane turned Ajax’s defense with a quick body movement to set the goal He launched his own effort poorly, but caught Tagliafico as he clumsily tried to clear, but instead deflected it into Ajax’s net
« It was a good enough performance to win the game which was pretty wild at times It wasn’t one of our bright sunny days of world class football It wasn’t perfect but the boys fought like mad, « said a happier Liverpool manager afterwards
Klopp removed Mane and his striking partners Roberto Firmino and Mohamed Salah with 30 minutes remaining, but substitutes Diogo Jota and Takumi Minamino kept the pressure on the home side
Ajax should have equalized, however, four minutes into the stoppage time when Adrian failed to properly handle a cross in the box, but substitute Jurgen Ekkelenkamp missed the target
Manchester City’s injury concerns worsened after their Brazilian midfielder Fernandinho was ruled out for up to six weeks after suffering a leg injury in their 3-1 Champions League win over Porto on Wednesday
Fernandinho was not introduced until the 85th minute, but lost time out after suffering what appeared to be muscle strain in his leg
« Bad news, his leg will be, I think, four to six weeks, yes it’s a blow to us with so many games and no people there But that’s what it is » , said city manager Pep Guardiola
Guardiola was already without key midfielder Kevin De Bruyne, defender Aymeric Laporte and Brazilian striker Gabriel Jesus, while he still has several players short of full fitness, including the midfielder German Ilkay Gundogan, whose stunning free kick put City 2-1 against Porto after falling behind in the 14th minute
« If I’m honest we have a little trouble with injuries and losing Fernandinho towards the end of the game is another big blow, » Gundogan said
« There are others, of course, plus some who have just returned and I myself am not yet completely there after having COVID-19 », he added
De Bruyne and Laporte are set to resume training on Thursday, but it is not clear whether they will be ready for Saturday’s Premier League meeting at West Ham
« I think Kevin and Laporte start training tomorrow, but I don’t know how they will be tomorrow and the next few days, so we’ll see, » Guardiola said
« Unfortunately people have come back but now we have lost another one In three days we go to London and then we travel to France to play against Marseille and then Sheffield three days later The schedules are very demanding and we need to all players ”, he added
FC Porto, Raheem Sterling, Manchester City FC, UEFA Champions League, Sergio Agüero, Pep Guardiola
World news – GB – City return with a 3-1 victory against Porto, Liverpool beat Ajax with an own goal
SOURCE: https://www.w24news.com
