Julian Alvarez’s brace helps Man City clinch win in UCL opening night
Sep 20, 2023
Manchester [UK], September 20 : Julian Alvarez's brace and Rodri's lone goal helped Manchester City bag their first win against FK Crvena Zvezda 3-1 in the UEFA Champions League (UCL) 2023-24 on Wednesday at Etihad Stadium.
The home side had a sloppy start and failed to keep a clean sheet in their first match of the UCL 2023-24 season.
Just before the end of the first half, Zvezda's Osman Bukari made the first breakthrough of the match and helped the team take a lead against the reigning champions.
At first, Bukari's shot was called offside by the on-field referee, but it was later changed by the Video Assistant Referee (VAR).
However, City did not have to wait long to make a comeback in the game as Alvarez equalized the score in the 47th minute of the match with a stunning shot. Erling Haaland made the assist and made no mistake to find the Argentine striker.
In the 52nd minute, Kyle Walker tried to help City take the lead but the Englishman's shot was disallowed by the VAR for offside.
In the 60th minute, City took the lead in the game with the help of Alvarez's curling freekick. Zvezda's goalkeeper tried to save the shot with a punch but still, the ball got the back of the net.
Rodri's fine finish helped City to take a two-goal lead against the visitors. Phil Foden dribbled his way through the visitor's defence and placed a curling strike to Rodri and the Spaniard perfectly put it on goal.
City's star player Haaland had an off-day and missed plenty of goal-scoring chances in the first half but the home side was saved by Alvarez's two goals in the second half.
Manchester City will take on Nottingham Forest in their upcoming fixture in the Premier League on Saturday.
