Crvena Zvezda vs Manchester City. UEFA Champions League Group G.
Crvena Zvezda StadiumAttendance49,443.
Report as Manchester City academy graduate Micah Hamilton scores on his first-team debut at Red Star; Oscar Bobb nets City's second goal on his first start; In-Beom Hwang pulls one back for Red Star; Hamilton wins penalty, scored by Kalvin Phillips for his first City goal
Thursday 14 December 2023 06:06, UK
Manchester City youngsters Micah Hamilton and Oscar Bobb both scored to help Pep Guardiola’s side to a 3-2 victory over Red Star Belgrade and finish top of Group G with a flawless record.
City joined Liverpool as the only other English team to ever win all six Champions League group games in a season on a defining night for the club's academy in Serbia.
Hamilton, 20, who joined the club aged nine, was handed his first-team debut as one of nine changes and opened the scoring with a powerful effort that crashed into the roof of the net before Bobb, on his first City start, netted the second with a clinical finish.
The spirited Red Star hit back through substitute In-Beom Hwang but Hamilton won a late penalty which was converted by Kalvin Phillips for his first goal for the club.
City may have cruised through the group but they were made to work for their victory, Aleksandar Katai heading in from a corner to keep the Serbian SuperLiga side in the fixture until the end.
Hamilton had taken instructions from Guardiola long before breaking into the City first team. Back in 2017, he was a ballboy at the Etihad and was spoken to by the City boss, who wanted the future winger to retrieve the ball quicker to help the team maintain a high tempo.
Six years later, Hamilton was delivering on the pitch. He raced into the area and beat Red Star captain Aleksandar Dragovic with a shimmy before crashing a shot high into the net.
Hamilton then nearly teed up Bobb for his first goal when he fired a dangerous low ball in from the right but the latter could not make contact at the far post.
Hamilton went close again early in the second half when he curled a low effort just wide but City needed Stefan Ortega to keep them level as he made two good saves in quick succession to keep out Cherif Ndiaye and Guelor Kanga.
Bobb then took centre stage as he doubled City's lead just after the hour. He picked up possession from Rico Lewis, another highly impressive academy graduate, and opted against the return pass, instead wrong-footing the defenders with a weaving run and sliding a low finish inside the left post.
Red Star rallied and, after Jovan Mijatovic hit a post, Hwang beat Ortega with a low strike to reduce the deficit after linking up with Osman Bukari moments after City had introduced 18-year-old Mahamadou Susoho for his debut after joining the club's academy in 2017.
Yet Phillips made no mistake from the spot five minutes from time after Hamilton was brought down by Nasser Djiga and that proved decisive as Katai headed a second Red Star goal in stoppage time.
Man City manager Pep Guardiola on Micah Hamilton's performance: "What a goal and what a game. I am so happy for him. He is training often with us and we saw his skills one against one. He scored a fantastic goal and made a penalty.
"When he could not make one against one he made extra passes and defensively was aggressive.
"Congratulations to all at the academy for the last years. How many players came up, how many players we sold who are playing already in the Premier League and Championship, and more."
On Oscar Bobb: "It is not easy to give opportunities at this level. It is really good to see them play.
"I think Oscar is the reality. It was a top-class goal. I am very pleased for the result, for the performance in general, the effort from everyone, how the seniors helped the young lads."
On Phillips' penalty: "He is an incredibly good taker of penalties. I know Phil (Foden) has ambition to do it but Kalvin is an incredible penalty-taker. The game was not over, and (it was) for his confidence.
"It was a difficult game. They went man-to-man all over the pitch. They were aggressive, a lot of interruptions, a lot of fouls. It was not easy to play comfortably but in the right moment we found our quality."
Manchester City return to Premier League action when they host Crystal Palace at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday, kick-off 3pm.
