Manchester City send scouts to Champions League clash in Portugal prior to Borussia Dortmund win

Manchester City sent a team of scouts to FC Porto's 4-0 defeat to Club Brugge in the Champions League at the Estádio do Dragão on Tuesday evening.

The Premier League champions maintained their unbeaten start to the season with a hard fought 2-1 victory over Borussia Dortmund courtesy of two brilliant late strikes from John Stones and Erling Haaland.

Pep Guardiola's men return to league action on Saturday in a lunchtime kick-off against Wolves at the Molineux Stadium after their meeting with Tottenham at the weekend was postponed following the passing of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.

City have made a statement start to their title defence and despite a few draws over the past month, the Blues sit in second place in the table - just a point behind leaders Arsenal.

A successful transfer window as any the Blues have enjoyed arguably for nearly a decade saw the Etihad outfit bring in Erling Haaland, Julian Alvarez, Kalvin Phillips, Sergio Gomez, Stefan Ortega and Manuel Akanji.

After retaining the Premier League title for the second time under Guardiola last season and a semi-final finish in the Champions League, City enjoyed a stellar transfer window with a sizeable amount recovered through some high-profile sales.

Raheem Sterling, Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko all moved down south to London and were sold for a combined fee in excess of £120 million.

After strengthening Guardiola's defence and securing the arrival of one of the best strikers in world football, Manchester City are expected to challenge on all fronts again this season.

Sources at the Etihad Stadium have refused to rule out a major outlay in the next priority area in the squad, which is expected to be in central midfield, as per reports in England.

As reported by Portuguese outlet O Jogo, whose information has been translated and relayed by Sport Witness, Manchester City sent a team of scouts to witness the Champions League group-stage clash between FC Porto and Club Brugge in Portugal on Tuesday evening.

Ferran Jutgla, Kamal Sowah, Andreas Skov Olsen and Antonio Nusa were on the scoresheet for Brugge in what was a resounding victory for the Belgian side away from home.

Porto enjoyed more possession and registered a greater number of shots but their efforts counted for little in the end as they suffered their second Champions League defeat of the season.

Atletico Madrid narrowly beat the Portuguese outfit in their opening European clash of the campaign, with Antoine Griezmann netting in the 11th minute of stoppage time.

It remains to be seen if City register their interest in any current members of Porto or Brugge's squads though it is worth noting that City Football Group's (CFG) exhaustive scouting network regularly sees them send scouts across the continent and beyond to be on the lookout for emerging talents.

Manchester City are leading the standings in Group G after their late win against Dortmund in Manchester on Wednesday - after claiming a convincing 4-0 victory away at Seville last week.

Guardiola's men can enter the first international break of the campaign on a high should they manage to take three points against Wolves on Saturday.