Erling Haaland had an altercation with a Porto player in Man City’s UCL opener© AFP
Manchester City forward Erling Haaland was involved in a heated altercation with Porto’s Pablo Rosario just minutes before the full-time whistle in his team’s UEFA Champions League opener on Tuesday night. The incident took place right after Haaland scored his second goal in the 91st minute to seal Manchester City’s win. Porto midfielder Rosario seemingly pulled down Haaland with a late challenge. The Norwegian wasn’t pleased and reacted aggressively to the challenge, sparking a physical and verbal clash between the two.
The confrontation briefly drew in players from both teams as tempers flared in the match just moments before the final whistle was to be blown. The referee intervened to restore order and issued yellow cards to both Haaland and Rosario.
this entire fight between haaland and rosario was insane pic.twitter.com/Z2n10qngKH
— lee (@haalandermoon) September 8, 2026
Haaland has now scored an astonishing 59 goals in 59 appearances in the Champions League in his career.
“Erling Haaland is an animal. He is a beast, so every time he is on the pitch, I’m going to look for him, and hopefully give him many more assists,” his new Manchester City teammate Enzo Fernandez told Amazon Prime after the game.
Manchester City’s new coach, Enzo Maresca, handed Moroccan midfielder Ayyoub Bouaddi his first start since his 100 million euro (£85.6 million, $117 million) move from Lille.
Remarkably, the teenage prodigy is still only the third most expensive midfielder City signed in the transfer window after Enzo Fernandez and Elliott Anderson both surpassed the £100 million mark.
Bouaddi and Fernandez impressed in a bright first-half display from City that only lacked a goal thanks to a masterclass by Diogo Costa in the Porto goal. Eventually, the two Erling Haaland goals proved to be decisive.
It was a fourth straight victory in all competitions for the Cityzens, Champions League winners in 2023, whose next European game will be at home to title-holders Paris Saint-Germain.
With AFP Inputs
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