Football

Man City vs Crvena zvezda player ratings: Blues overcome first half scare to take home the three points

September 19, 2023 10:05 pm
man city vs Crvena zvezda player ratings
Photo by Icon sport

  • Man City get their Champions League defence underway with a 3-1 win over Crvena zvezda at the Etihad Stadium.
  • Crvena zvezda took a shock lead into half time when Osman Bukari scored in the final minute of the first half.
  • A double from Julian Alvarez and a strike from Rodri in the second half turned the game around for the reigning champions.

Man City ratings:

Ederson 7/10 – Couldn’t have done much to stop Red Star taking the lead but his passing was as crisp as ever.

Kyle Walker 7/10 – Put some delicious balls into the box as City peppered the Red Star box.

Ruben Dias 6/10 – Was a bit rash at times but that is par for the course with a front-foot defender.

Nathan Ake 7/10 – Brought the ball well out of defence.

Sergio Gomez 6/10 – Looked a lot more comfortable in the opposition half. Begs the question why Guardiola keeps playing him at left-back.

Matheus Nunes 6/10 – A solid enough debut from Nunes if not spectacular.

Rodri 8/10 – Scored a great goal and just generally controlled the game.

Bernardo Silva 6/10 – Was forced off in the first half but didn’t do an awful lot.

Julian Alvarez 9/10 – Drove City forward in the second half and got himself two goals.

Phil Foden 6/10 – Lost the ball on the countless occasions when City were in promising positions.

Erling Haaland 5/10 – Missed a few chances again – his form would be a concern if City weren’t winning every week.

Substitutes

Jeremy Doku 7/10 – Lit up the Etihad with his pace and directness after his impressive debut against West Ham.

Manuel Akanji 7/10 – Calmed things down when he came on for the erratic Gomez.

Kalvin Phillips N/A

Oscar Bobb N/A

Rico Lewis N/A

Crvena zvezda ratings:

Omri Glazer 7/10 – A mixed evening for Glazer. On one hand, he made a string of impressive saves but on the other, he was entirely at fault for Alvarez’s second.

Srdjan Mijailovic 6/10 – Did okay against Foden but struggled against Doku.

Nasser Djiga 7/10 – Came up with some important blocks and last-ditch tackles to keep City at bay.

Aleksandar Dragovic 5/10 – Looked out of his depth and couldn’t keep up with Alvarez and Haaland.

Milan Rodic 5/10 – City’s combinations down the right-hand side confused him and he struggled with Kyle Walker particularly.

In-Beom Hwang 6/10 – Battled away in midfield but the gulf in quality was clear.

Marko Stamenic 6/10 – Rarely saw the ball but tried to impose his physicality on City when he could get near them.

Osman Bukari 7/10 – A lovely finish in the first half to give Red Star the lead.

Mirko Ivanic 7/10 – Slipped in Bukari for the opener and looked like Red Star’s most potent attacker.

Stefan Mitrovic 6/10 – Couldn’t get into the game due to Red Star’s lack of possession.

Cherif Ndiaye 5/10 – A peripheral figure up front.

Substitutes

Peter Olayinka N/A

Jean-Philippe Krasso N/A

Vladimir Lucic N/A

Guelor Kanga N/A

Milos Degenek N/A

Man City vs Crvena zvezda match summary and highlights

Manchester City are underway in the Champions League but it perhaps wasn’t as straightforward as many were predicting before the match. The Blues, who are the defending champions, were expected to win comfortably but after a frustrating first half, they found themselves a goal down at the break.

Red Star, who posed a threat on the counter-attack all evening, got the opener in the 45th minute when Osman Bukari put the ball past Ederson following a nicely weighted through ball. There was a VAR check to see if Bukaro had strayed offside but the goal stood and Red Star took the lead into the break.

City came out in a more determined mood after the break and it took them just two minutes to level the scores through Julian Alvarez. On the hour mark, the Argentinian gave the Blues the lead when his free kick somehow looped over Glazer in the Red Star goal.

Rodri rubber-stamped the victory ten minutes later and Guardiola’s men can now look forward to a Premier League match with Nottingham Forest at the weekend.

Player of the match: Julian Alvarez

After a disappointing first half, Julian Alvarez grabbed the game by the scruff of the neck in the second half to drag his team to victory. His second was a stroke of luck, however, his first was an exceptional finish after being slipped in by Haaland. Alvarez is beginning to establish himself as a City regular and it’s clear to see why.

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