Micah Hamilton and Oscar Bobb step up as Manchester City beat Red Star Belgrade
Micah Hamilton, second right, broke the deadlock (Darko Vojinovic/AP)
Former ballboy Micah Hamilton and fellow youngster Oscar Bobb struck as a much-changed Manchester City ended the Champions League group stage with a 3-2 win at Red Star Belgrade.
Kalvin Phillips also joined the two 20-year-olds on the scoresheet with a late penalty after manager Pep Guardiola rotated his squad for the Group G dead rubber at the Rajko Mitic Stadium.
Manchester-born academy product Hamilton marked his debut with a superb strike in the 19th minute before Norwegian Bobb, filling in for compatriot Erling Haaland up front, added the second after 62 minutes.
Hwang In-beom pulled one back but Phillips gave City breathing space with his first goal for the club after a foul on Hamilton before Aleksandar Katai headed a late home consolation.
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The result meant holders City, who had already secured top spot, finished the group phase with a maximum haul of 18 points while winless Red Star ended bottom.
With City facing Crystal Palace before travelling to Saudi Arabia for the Club World Cup next week, Guardiola not only gave chances to Hamilton and Bobb but brought in fringe players such as Stefan Ortega and Phillips.
In all he made nine changes and, initially, intensity was lacking as Red Star carved out the first opportunity with Osman Bukari’s shot being blocked by John Stones.
Yet City still controlled most of the possession and Hamilton took full advantage of their first serious attack.
Red Star Belgrade supporters set off flares (Darko
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