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.
How Hamilton shone on City debut
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.
Opta Stats: Joy at last for Phillips
- Manchester City have become the first English club to win eight consecutive European Cup/UEFA Champions League matches.
- Aged 20 years and 30 days, Man City’s Micah Hamilton was the fifth-youngest English player to score on his UEFA Champions League debut, and youngest since Marcus Rashford for Man Utd v Basel in September 2017 (19y 316d).
- In Micah Hamilton and Oscar Bobb, Man City were the third different club to have two players aged under 21 score on their first UEFA Champions League start for the club in the same game, after Barcelona (Montoya & Roberto v BATE Borisov in Dec 2011) and FC Red Bull Sazburg (twice: Haaland & Szoboszlai v KRC Genk in Sep 2019, Gloukh & Simic v Benfica in Sep 2023).
- Kalvin Phillips scored his first goal in all competitions for Man City in his 30th appearance for the club, and his first in 51 club appearances overall across his time at Leeds and Man City, since netting against Crewe in August 2021.
What’s next?
Manchester City return to Premier League action when they host Crystal Palace at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday, kick-off 3pm.
