By Enzo Maresca's own admission, Manchester City "complicated" their 2-0 win over Porto in the Champions League on Tuesday. The patchiness of their performance led Alan Shearer to call Maresca's side "weak" on Prime Video's co-commentary.

City did fail to consolidate their advantage until late on, but never really looked in danger of squandering it. Statistically, Porto were restricted to scraps. For a team who had not been beaten at the Estadio do Dragao throughout the whole of 2026, there were few clear-cut chances to speak of. Not a single shot on target. Man City's superbly balanced midfield made sure of that.

The danger here is of course to compare what City are serving up under Maresca with performances of the past, where everything flowed simultaneously around Rodri in the style of Pep Guardiola. But that reality has passed. There remains no rush about Maresca or the implementation of his philosophy. "Slowly, slowly," he urged on Tuesday.

But the individual display of Ayyoub Bouaddi should perhaps be highlighted as the biggest win. Erling Haaland might argue his match-winning double deserved some column inches, but such is the frequency, certain instances can afford to be glossed over in favour of someone else. This is one of them. Haaland's most perceptive take actually happened post-match. "I told the chairman [Khaldoon Al Mubarak], we've got a gem there," he said of Bouaddi's influence in Porto. "He did a really good game. He's been amazing in training." The £86m summer signing from Lille possesses a unique brand of confidence for a player still lodged in his teenage years. His first Man City start revealed him to be a very accomplished act indeed, with plenty of Rodri-like mannerisms.