Manchester United may have left Porto with a point but it was far from convincing as they salvaged a 3-3 draw through the head of Harry Maguire.
Marcus Rashford was lively for United from the start and opened the scoring with a penetrative run from the left channel.
He jinked and jived before his effort was met by a weak hand from Porto goalkeeper Diogo Costa who failed to keep the shot at bay.
Marcus Rashford magic 🪄
The Manchester United winger showcases great skill before scoring the opening goal of the game for his side against Porto 🔴 pic.twitter.com/A30bbPg9F2— Premier Sports Ireland (@PremSportsIRL) October 3, 2024
Costa was again at fault when Rasmus Hojlund beat him at his near post with an effort that did not look destined to cross the line when it left the striker's boot.
Porto responded in style however, bagging two goals within seven minutes to level things going into the interval with Rashford failing to show the same prowess in defence as he did in attack.
Things went from bad to worse for Erik Ten Hag's men when Porto took the lead, Samu Omorodion losing Matthijs De Ligt and drilling the ball into the roof of the net.
Porto take the lead! 🔵⚪
Samu Omorodion scores again and makes it 3-2 against Manchester United ⚽ pic.twitter.com/TA8JblVLAi— Premier Sports Ireland (@PremSportsIRL) October 3, 2024
United, who had to settle for a draw with FC Twente in round one, salvaged another point with Maguire heading a late equaliser to spare the Red Devils' blushes in Portugal.
Richard Dunne gives grim De Ligt assessment
Maguire's contribution is sure to boost his stock on a night where De Ligt was evidently at fault for two of Porto's three goals.
Former Ireland defender Richard Dunne was on punditry duty for Premier Sports where he gave a sobering assessment of the former Ajax and Bayern Munich star.
"He is just another one that is going to fall into the sort of catergory of a decent centre-half," Dunne said.
"He is not the one that is going to lead them back to league titles and Champions Leagues.
"I think that goal is very good centre-forward movement but it is also the most basic of movement from a centre-forward and he should be able to deal with it."
There is high hopes for the Dutch defender who appeared to have the world at his feet when he rose to prominence with Ajax as a teenager back in 2019.
However, Dunne had a lengthy Premier League career in the same position and his assessment is sure to make grim reading for United fans.
