Manchester City manager Enzo Mareska was pleased with his team's performance in the Champions League match against Porto, where they secured a 2-0 victory.
Both goals came in the second half courtesy of Erling Haaland.
However, former player Alan Shearer was critical of the "Citizens'" display, describing their reaction after the first goal as "weak," allowing Porto back into the game.
Reflecting on the win at the Estadio do Dragao, Mareska said:
“I think we could have scored more goals, especially in the first half. But overall, we deserved the win.”
“We created enough chances to win the game, and we didn't concede many.”
“It's absolutely normal to come here and allow some noise, so overall I'm satisfied with the performance.”
“If you think you'll come to this stadium, just play and not allow anything at your goal, that’s not reality.”
“It’s fine that they tried to create something. They didn’t make many opportunities. Most of it was down to our mistakes. But I think that’s okay.”
Porto goalkeeper Diogo Costa made several crucial saves against Haaland in the first half, as well as stopping an effort from Ryan Cherki. The manager noted that the team will improve their attacking play:
“We will get there. We've been working together for just a month and a half. We're trying to do different things.”
“Of course, when there’s space behind, we need to exploit it because we pose a threat.”
“We have Erling, and Antoine Semenyo, and when Jeremy Doku is fit, he’ll be with us too. There's also Iliman Ndiaye. We have players who can make runs, so we'll use that option.”
“Certainly, today we could have played balls in behind the defenders more often. But we’ll implement that gradually. Step by step.”
Now, Manchester City will switch their focus to the upcoming derby against Manchester United on Sunday.
