With a perfect record, Manchester City defeated Red Star Belgrade and advanced to the round of 16 of the Champions League thanks to a goal from winger Micah Hamilton on his incredible debut.
After 19 minutes in a hostile environment in Serbia, Hamilton, 20, who has been with the team since he was nine years old, gave City the lead.
Hamilton, an England under-16 player, was found down the right wing by Matheus Nunes. He entered the penalty area, moved the ball to create space, and then fired hard into the roof of the net.
Oscar Bobb, 20, scored his first goal for the team with a ninking run at the home defence on a fantastic night for City’s academy. In minute 63, he curled in the second.
After edging past Stefan Ortega with a low shot after escaping Kalvin Phillips’s mark, Hwang In-beom gave Red Star a response.
However, Phillips atoned for his foul when he scored a penalty following the impressive Hamilton’s foul.
Red Star’s Aleksandar Katai scored a late header, but reigning European champions City were unfazed and followed Real Madrid’s lead by winning six of their six group stage games to go to the round of 16.
Only Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool in 2021–2022 became the other English team to accomplish this feat, followed by Pep Guardiola’s team.
On Monday, December 18, at 11:00 GMT, the draw for the final 16 will take place at Uefa’s headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland.
Inter Milan, the team that defeated City in the previous season’s championship game, is one of the teams that City will likely play. The team that placed second in their group is Inter Milan.
