Micah Hamilton and Oscar Bobb scored their first goals for Manchester City in a 3-2 win over Red Star Belgrade on Wednesday, completing the club’s perfect Champions League group stage.
The defending champions had already qualified for the knockout stages as Group G victors, giving Pep Guardiola the luxury of making nine changes.
Bobb and Hamilton were two of the young players given the opportunity to shine on European football’s grandest stage, and they relished the opportunity.
In 2017, a photo of Hamilton receiving instructions from Guardiola as a ball boy went viral ahead of kickoff.
On 19 minutes, he justified his manager’s faith in him by hitting high beyond Omri Glazer from a narrow angle.
Bobb has played a larger role in first-team squads this season, and his solo run and elegant finish increased City’s lead early in the second half.
Red Star had nothing to play for other than pride, as they were already guaranteed to finish last in their area before the game began.
For the Serbian champions, Hwang In-beam scored.
But Hamilton wowed again when he won a penalty, and Kalvin Phillips stepped up to score his first City goal five minutes from time.
Aleksandar Katai scored in stoppage time for Red Star, but City held on to become only the second English team, after Liverpool in 2021/22, to win all six Champions League group games.