Playing with practically nine men, Matheus Nunes was a false striker who missed a great opportunity. In Man. City's victory against Red Star (2-3), the young players, especially Hamilton, shone.
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Qualification for the Champions League round of 16: achieved. Securing first place in the group: achieved. A trip to Belgrade for Manchester City was like icing on the cake. Moreover, Haaland, recovering from a foot injury with no set return date, and Doku, dealing with a muscle problem, were not available.
Bernardo Silva and Rúben Dias were on the bench. Ederson was replaced by Ortega in goal. Matheus Nunes retained his starting spot in a lineup with nine changes from the visit to Luton. For Red Star too, everything was already decided, as it was impossible to escape the bottom of Group G. Apparently, there were few points of interest in this game.
"We're going to rotate some players because we have three days, a five or six-hour journey, three days, a semi-final, and potentially a final [of the Club World Cup]," warned Manchester City's coach, Pep Guardiola. "I am very pleased to see many players who haven't played recently getting involved in the team." One of the new features introduced by the Spanish coach was the debut of 20-year-old winger Micah Hamilton in Manchester City's first team, a club where he has been developed and where, six years ago, he was a ball boy.
Pep Guardiola, nominated for FIFA's Best Coach of the Year award (competing with Simone Inzaghi and Luciano Spalletti), trusted his abilities to field a lineup with Sergio Gómez, Oscar Bobb, and Rico Lewis performing in the Champions League. In this regard, Matheus Nunes could have a rare chance to be a protagonist at Manchester City and climb the hierarchy of the citizens' squad. The former Sporting midfielder reached four starts in the Champions League this season, as many as he has in the Premier League.
Against Red Star, Matheus Nunes was positioned as an attacking midfielder, slightly ahead of Kovacic and Kalvin Phillips. It was from that area of the field that the Portuguese international opened for Micah Hamilton (19′) to develop the individual play that inaugurated the scoring in the first minutes of his debut with the citizens.
Manchester City was conceding some spaces to Red Star. Kosta Nedeljkovic, only 17 years old, shot over the bar. The response came through Matheus Nunes who, in the course of the plays, often ended up as the most advanced player of the English team, almost like a false nine. The midfielder appeared in the heart of the box, but was unsuccessful with his shot following a swirling cross from the left. If there were any doubts that Matheus is not exactly a finisher, at the start of the second half, he attempted a bicycle kick that was a bit beyond his capabilities, and in the process, almost shattered his shoulder, ending up lying on the pitch for a few minutes.
The pain of the Portuguese player mirrored the struggles of Manchester City, which couldn't establish total control of the match due to being a notch below their usual level in various aspects of the game. Although Micah Hamilton entered the second half creating danger, it was Red Star who came close to equalizing twice. Cherif Ndiaye forced Ortega into a volleyball-style save. Following that, Guélor Kanga also took his chance.
While Manchester City wasn’t overwhelming in some respects, their ability to attack the goal in the final third wasn’t one of them. Oscar Bobb (62′), a 20-year-old Norwegian, maneuvered the ball inside the box and crafted with his left foot the 2-0 goal that put the reigning champions in a more comfortable position. Nevertheless, the Serbians continued their pursuit of a goal. Jovan Mijatovic came closest to achieving this by hitting the post of Ortega’s goal.
Guardiola also debuted 18-year-old Spaniard Mahamadou Susoho, and shortly after the midfielder's entrance, Red Star reduced the lead. Hwang In-beom (76′), one of the best on the Belgrade team, caught Manchester City's defense off-guard and reintroduced uncertainty into the outcome. To maintain the lead in possession, Bernardo Silva was brought on in the 82nd minute to replace Matheus Nunes. The impact of the little maestro was immediate. Micah Hamilton was brought down by Nasser Djiga in the box and Kalvin Phillips (85′), in only his second start this season, converted the penalty. Aleksandar Katai (90+1′) responded positively to the corner taken by Hwang In-beom, narrowing the scoreline to a one-goal margin.
The citizens, with their 2-3 victory over Red Star, reached 18 points, scoring 18 goals and conceding seven. Guardiola's team completed a clean sweep of victories and advances to the round of 16 without any blemishes that could harm their bid to retain the title. The Serbians had to settle for one point. Concurrently with this match, Leipzig, the second-placed team in Group G, defeated Young Boys, who were in third place and entitled to remain in European competitions, by a 2-1 scoreline.
