Haaland Praises Bouaddi After Manchester City's 2-0 Win Over Porto
Manchester City walked out of Porto with a 2-0 victory and something more valuable than three Champions League points: the sense they might have unearthed their next star.
Erling Haaland did what Erling Haaland does, leading the line in a bruising, man-to-man battle against a Porto side he called “a top team” and “impressive”. But when the final whistle went, his mind was on an 18-year-old making his debut.
“I think he played a very good game,” Haaland told Amazon Prime, singling out Bouaddi after the teenager’s first senior appearance. “Last couple of weeks in training, I told the chairman that he has been amazing, so I think we have a gem here.”
That word lingered. A gem. On a night loaded with pressure, City trusted a kid and he didn’t flinch.
City had to. The stakes felt heavy. Haaland admitted the weight of expectation, saying the team knew they “had to deliver on the biggest stage” with all eyes on their Champions League campaign and the familiar demand to win every time they pull on the shirt.
He felt they set the tone early.
“I think honestly we controlled the first half,” he said. Porto’s aggression did cause a few jolts. “A bit uncomfortable when they came a bit high, but we created a lot of chances. I could of easily of had a lot more goals.”
The missed chances didn’t haunt them. The goals eventually came, and with them, the shift in the contest.
Second Half
Second half, City struck. Porto reacted with a ferocious spell, and Haaland felt it.
“They pushed us for a good 25 minutes,” he admitted. The home side surged, the crowd roared, and City had to dig in. “But again we managed to hold through and then finish the game.”
That, for Haaland, is the mark of a serious contender: winning when the temperature rises, when the legs are heavy and the margins are thin.
“I think these are the games that we have to win, and we have had a great start to the season,” he said. In this competition, he knows the maths is brutal. “In the Champions League you have to win games because if not you suddenly get all the pressure and then you never know what’s going to happen.”
The standards at Manchester City do not leave much room for error. Haaland didn’t pretend otherwise.
“We have to demand a lot from each other, and we have to win games. At Man City you have to win games and you have to win trophies.”
Even Bouaddi, on his big night, wasn’t spared that edge. Haaland’s praise came with a striker’s sting.
“To be honest, I think he should of played me through in the second half when I was all alone,” he said, half-smiling, half-serious. “I was a bit angry, so I will tell him right now, he played a good game, except that pass.”
A debut, a win, a gentle scolding from one of the game’s deadliest forwards. For an 18-year-old, that’s not a bad introduction to life at the sharp end of Manchester City’s season.
