Erling Haaland says Man City have new weapon in title race with Arsenal and Chelsea

Erling Haaland after Manchester City’s win over Porto (Picture: Amazon)

Erling Haaland believes Manchester City have found a new weapon as they look to dethrone Premier League champions Arsenal.

Man City began their Champions League campaign with an impressive 2-0 win over Portuguese giants Porto.

After a goalless first half, prolific goalscorer Haaland gave Man City the lead with a 47th-minute header.

The Norwegian superstar put the game to bed with City’s second in injury time, taking his tally for the club to 36 Champions League goals in only 40 appearances.

Haaland’s form was not the only promising sign for Manchester City, with Enzo Fernandez impressing following his £125m move from Chelsea and £86m signing Ayyoub Bouaddi thriving on his first start for the club.

Man City’s midfield was weekended by Rodri’s £65m move to Barcelona but Etihad bosses appear to have signed well in Fernandez and Bouaddi.

Morocco international Bouaddi only joined City two weeks ago but has already impressed Haaland, who described him as a ‘gem’ and revealed he had told decision-makers at the club that he looked ‘amazing’ in training.

Manchester City’s £86m signing Ayyoub Bouaddi (Picture: Getty)

‘I think he played a very good game,’ Haaland said of 18-year-old Bouaddi, who was linked with several Premier League clubs before joining Man City.

‘Last couple of weeks in training, I told the chairman that he has been amazing, so I think we have a gem here.

‘But to be honest, I think he should of played me through in the second half when I was all alone. I was a bit angry, so I will tell him right now, he played a good game, except that pass!’

Haaland scored twice against Porto (Picture: Getty)

Manchester City boss Enzo Maresca also praised Bouaddi, describing his performance against Porto as ‘unbelievable’.

‘The good thing is that from Erling [Haaland], Ruben [Dias], Mateo [Kovacic] you expect how to manage this game but Ayyoub was never in panic,’ Maresca told Amazon Prime.

‘He was very good and I think the performance was unbelievable.’

Erling Haaland reacts to Man City's win in Porto 🗣️Still a few bits to learn for new signing Ayyoub Bouaddi 😅 pic.twitter.com/bbAeD1y905— Prime Video Sport UK (@primevideosport) September 8, 2026

Discussing Man City’s win more generally, ex-Chelsea manager Maresca added: ‘I think we could’ve scored more goals, especially in the first half but overall I think we deserved to win the game.

‘We created enough chances to win the game. We didn’t concede a lot. It’s normal to come here and concede some chances because it’s normal, so overall happy with the performance.

‘I think I am lucky because all the squad is good players, for a manager it is easy because you can give minutes to all of them, and tonight I think the guys that were inside were very good.’