Champions League champions On Tuesday night at the Etihad, Manchester City overcame an early deficit to defeat Crvena Zvezda 3-1. Due to manager Pep Guardiola's substitutions and addition of some periphery players, the home team had difficulty playing at their customary tempo. When Osman Bukari beat the offside trap at the end of the half to score following a VAR review, Phil Foden and Erling Haaland paid the price for their squandered opportunities in the first half.
After two minutes of the second half, Julian Alvarez equalised thanks to some deft link-up play from Erling Haaland, and an error by Omri Glazer on the hour handed Alvarez his second from what appeared to be a harmless free kick. It was a bitter blow for Glazer, who had done a fantastic job keeping City out in the first half. After that, City pressed for more goals, and Rodri, the Champions League MVP from the previous year, curled in a third.