Man City 3-1 Red Star Belgrade: Dominant holders survive scare to make winning Champions League start
A second-half double from Julian Alvarez and Rodri’s late strike ensured that Pep Guardiola’s holders avoided one of the biggest shocks in tournament history and made a winning start in Group G despite Osman Bukari stunning the Etihad Stadium into silence with a shock breakaway goal for the visitors that came totally against the run of play before the interval.
City were absolutely dominant apart from that unexpected blip that came right on the stroke of half-time, amassing an incredible 37 attempts (16 on target) to go along with 12 corners and 77 per cent of the overall possession on the night.
But despite that control and the hatful of chances they still needed a terrible blunder from Red Star goalkeeper Omri Glazer, who otherwise impressed with 11 saves including a string of top-class stops, to take the lead for the first time at 2-1 after the Israel international tried to punch clear Alvarez’s free-kick to the back post but missed horribly and instead watched on in horror as the ball flew straight in.
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