Man Utd Sent Scouts To Watch Man City Beat FC Porto in UEFA Champions League
City Xtra · Jack Coburn · 2026-09-11T09:53:24+00:00 · nguồn gốc
Manchester United sent a scout to watch Manchester City take on FC Porto in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday, ahead of the Red Devils' weekend clash with Enzo Maresca’s side.
The Citizens beat the Portuguese champions 0-2 at Estadio do Dragao thanks to a second-half double from striker Erling Haaland, who climbed up to third on Manchester City's all-time scorers list with 167 goals to his name since joining the club in the summer of 2022.
Both goals came following scenes of hostility in the tunnel at half-time, whereas Haaland himself accused FC Porto midfielder Pablo Rosario of “grabbing my bottom” soon after the Norway international secured his brace.
This weekend, Enzo Maresca meets Manchester United as City boss for the first time, as the Italian coach attempts to continue a fine run of form that has seen him win all three of his Premier League games so far as leader of a new Etihad Stadium project.
Why Man United scouts attended FC Porto 0-2 Man City
However, despite initial assumptions pointing towards the upcoming Manchester derby, and the potential for Manchester United to run analytical research to gain an advantage before Sunday afternoon's clash, it was more likely a tool to scout existing talent.
In June last year, Portuguese outlet A Bola reported that United were “very interested” in Diogo Costa - the Porto and Portugal international goalkeeper - after the website claimed the 25-year-old “believes it is time to embrace a new challenge”, with information translated and relayed by Sport Witness.
Against Enzo Maresca’s side on Tuesday night, it was Costa who saved Porto from embarrassment by making a total of eight saves and stopping the likes of Erling Haaland, Rayan Cherki, and Phil Foden from increasing the advantage.
Will Haaland continue scoring form against United?
Erling Haaland has scored five goals in as many games so far this season as his same-old scoring habits persist into the post-Pep Guardiola era, and his brace against FC Porto has evidently boosted his and his teammates' morale ahead of the derby on Sunday.
Since joining Manchester City from Borussia Dortmund, Haaland has scored eight goals against Manchester United in seven Premier League games, remarkably scoring twice and picking up an assist at Old Trafford during the Treble season.
For Enzo Maresca, it will be another tough test where his tactical handover and the almost-impossible task of replacing Guardiola are watched by many once again following a positive start as the Catalan's successor.
Maresca's side started the league campaign by beating Bournemouth in a scintillating comeback victory before thrashing Crystal Palace 4-1 away from home, which was followed by a not-so-dominant win over Coventry City last time out in the English top-flight.