Micah Hamilton scored on his senior debut in Wednesday’s 3-2 Champions League victory over Red Star Belgrade, earning the manager of Manchester City, Pep Guardiola, a ton of praise.
Guardiola made nine changes to his starting lineup, starting with academy graduate Hamilton making his full debut, as the Citizens went into the match in Serbia having already qualified for the round of 16.
Nine-year-old Hamilton, who joined City’s academy, began his memorable evening in the 19th minute with a strong strike from a close range.
At the age of twenty-one years and thirty days, Hamilton has become the youngest player for Man City to score on his Champions League debut and the youngest Englishman to do so since Marcus Rashford of Manchester United (19 years and 316 days) in 2017.
Guardiola was overjoyed for Hamilton, who originally encountered the Catalan manager in 2017 while serving as a ballboy during Man City’s home match against Crystal Palace.
Guardiola was taken aback when he saw video of himself interacting with Hamilton while working as a ballboy on the touchline at the Etihad Stadium during his post-match press conference.
“I was unaware of this. Half a decade ago? Whoa, it’s you,” exclaimed Guardiola. What a game and what an objective.
“I’m overjoyed for him. We observed his skills, and he is training well. He set an amazing goal. He was aggressive on the defensive. We are proud of our academy for producing so many players and selling so many of them.”
Oscar Bobb’s first goal as a senior and Hamilton’s first goal for City made the evening memorable for the academy, as the Norwegian went on to win man-of-the-match.
Along with fellow academy grads Rico Lewis and Phil Foden, midfielder Mahamadou Sissoho made his first appearance as a senior when he entered the game as a second-half substitute. The victory over Red Star also featured while Max Alleyne, the defender, and True Grant, the goalkeeper, also traveled to Serbia with the first team.
“It’s not easy to get opportunities at that level because in big clubs you don’t wait,” Guardiola said, praising the talent pipeline that has come out of City’s academy during his tenure at the club.
“We ultimately wanted to start Max, but the game got out of hand.
It’s an honor for the academy. Cole Palmer was in attendance. Gavin Bazunu, James Trafford, and Romeo Lavia.
“A large number of our academy’s players compete in the Championship or Premier League. They’ve accomplished amazing things. It is very high caliber.”
Man City will now focus on their Premier League matchup with Crystal Palace at the Etihad on Saturday after defeating Red Star, setting a new record in the competition. body check labels.
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