Report on Manchester City’s 3-1 triumph over Red Star Belgrade in their opening Champions League group stage match. Osman Bukari gave the visitors an unexpected lead, but the hosts rallied in the second half, and Rodri completed the comeback victory.
Manchester City, the current Champions League champions, got their title defense off to a winning start at the Etihad Stadium thanks to two goals from Julian Alvarez, who helped lead a comeback against Red Star Belgrade that resulted in a 3-1 victory.
Having won the top league in 1991, Red Star has a strong European history. On the cusp of halftime, they unexpectedly took the lead when Osman Bukari’s goal was upheld following a VAR review for offside (45). Red Star has won the Serbian championship for the past six years.
But Pep Guardiola’s side – who had 22 shots during a one-sided first half – recovered to ensure their would be no upset as Alvarez connected with Erling Haaland to round Omri Glazer and score inside two minutes of the restart.
The Argentine would celebrate a second when Glazer, whose heroics had kept Red Star level, bizarrely knocked the Argentine’s curling free-kick into his own net (60).
Guardiola later referred to Rodri as the best holding midfielder in the world after he scored the game-winning goal against Inter Milan in the final in June. Rodri produced a signature finish (73) to seal the victory as City stretched their unbeaten streak at home in the Champions League to 27 games.
