Holders Manchester City recovered from falling a goal behind to outclass Red Star Belgrade 3-1 in their Group G opener with Julian Alvarez scoring twice at The Etihad on Tuesday.
Pep Guardiola's side dominated the opening period but were guilty of wayward finishing and trailed to a sucker-punch just before halftime as Osman Bukari broke clear to finish in style.
City began the game on a 26-match unbeaten run in Champions League home games and normal service was resumed almost immediately after the restart as Alvarez levelled after combining with Erling Haaland.
A misjudgement by Red Star keeper Omri Glazer allowed an Alvarez cross to go into the net on the hour and Rodri made it 3-1 with a clinical finish after 73 minutes as City made it 19 home wins in succession in all competitions.
Big win for Barca
Barcelona’s Joao Felix struck twice in a 5-0 demolition of visiting Royal Antwerp in their Champions League Group H opener at the Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys on Tuesday.
Last-minute signing Felix opened the scoring with a low strike in the 11th minute before setting up Robert Lewandowski to double their lead eight minutes later as the Poland striker scored his 100th goal in European competition.
Raphinha helped make it 3-0 when his strike from a tight angle deflected off defender Jelle Bataille for an own goal.
Gavi and Felix added another two goals for the five-time European champions after the break to complete the rout at Barca’s temporary home while Camp Nou is being redeveloped.
Published - September 20, 2023 06:00 am IST
