Hjalte Froholdt of FC Porto in action during the UEFA Youth League 2026/27 League match between FC Porto and Manchester City at Centro de Treinos e Formacao Desportiva Jorge Costa in Porto, Portugal, on September 8, 2026. (Photo by Luis Eiras/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Manchester City U19s had a frustrating afternoon
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The referee for Manchester City's UEFA Youth League game on Tuesday may well have given a penalty for Kaden Braithwaite pulling a shirt anyway, but he was helped to make his decision by those around him. The player made the most he could of the contact and a noisy crowd were all up in arms over the coming together, before roaring with approval at the decision from the official.
That set the tone for another disappointing afternoon for City's academy in a competition that continues to give them a challenge that they are yet to show they can solve. Porto are one of the best teams in the tournament and reached the semi-finals last year, but the frustration for Oliver Reiss and his young players will be that they allowed themselves to be suckered into a game that they are not used to playing.
Porto were vulnerable for much of their 3-1 win, yet used every trick in the book to maximise their returns. Their goalkeeper fell to the floor to allow for a tactical timeout when City were on top in the first half and as the visitors chased an equaliser late in the game their momentum was stopped by a Porto defender going down so theatrically from a Teddie Lamb challenge that the referee belatedly produced a yellow card despite not appearing to have seen the incident.