PORTO, Portugal -- Manchester City can always rely on Erling Haaland ... until they can't, and that's when Enzo Maresca will really have to earn his money as Pep Guardiola's successor as manager. Haaland, the goalscoring phenomenon who carried Norway to the quarterfinals of the World Cup this summer, delivered yet again for Man City by scoring both goals in their 2-0 win against FC Porto in Portugal to kick off their Champions League campaign. Every time he adds his name to the scoresheet, Haaland seems to create a new record or a piece of club history and in Estadio do Dragao on Tuesday, the 26-year-old moved into third place in City's all-time scoring charts. With 167 goals, he is still 93 behind Sergio Aguero at the top of the list but level with the former Argentina forward as the club's leading scorer in Champions League competition at 36 goals. Having also scored in this competition for FC Salzburg and Borussia Dortmund, Haaland took his overall Champions League tally to 59, moving him ahead of Thomas Müller into seventh spot in the competition's all-time scorer list.

That's what Haaland does. He has now scored 304 goals in 390 club games since starting out as a 16-year-old with Norwegian team Bryne. His two goals against Porto mean he now has five in five games in all competitions for City this season. But there is an overriding sense with this City team that once Haaland's goals stop -- either through a loss of form or unavailability -- it will leave a hole that Maresca cannot fill.

Since he arrived at City from Dortmund ahead of the 2022-23 season, Haaland has only missed 23 games in four seasons, but he is one of the busiest footballers on the planet. With all the competitions he teams qualify for, he has perform in them all until the latter stages -- since the start of the Club World Cup in June 2025, he has played 73 games for club and country. Does something have to give? Maybe, maybe not, but City are walking on a tightrope with Haaland because of their lack of cover.