Reigning UEFA Champions League holders Manchester City in their first game of their title defence, came from behind to triumph over Crvena Zvezda 3-1, on Tuesday at Etihad Stadium in Manchester.
The visitors from Belgrade took the lead just before the break in shock circumstances, with City having peppered their goal throughout the first half, Eurosport reports.
However Julian Alvarez responded after the break and added a second in fortuitous circumstances.
Manager Pep Guardiola had made changes to bring in some fringe players, and the home side struggled to play at their usual pace.
In the second half, Julian Alvarez levelled the scoreline after just two minutes after clever link-up play from Erling Haaland, and on the hour mark a howler from Omri Glazer gave Alvarez his second from a seemingly benign free-kick. It was a cruel blow for Glazer who had been superb in the first half in keeping City out.
From that point City pushed for more goals and last season’s Champions League hero Rodri curled in a third.
Manchester City though complacent in the first period, were dominant and came out firing in the second half and could have scored more than three goals.
Crvena Zvezda were the opposite, looking to make the most of what they could and they took the lead as a result.
There is little that can hold Guardiola’s side back, but arrogance and errors from within is potentially the biggest threat.
