Former ballboy Micah moves from sidelines to center stage

BELGRADE, Serbia — Six years ago, Micah Hamilton was operating as a ballboy at Manchester City when he was pictured getting instructions off Pep Guardiola to help speed up play.

On Tuesday, he was scoring in the Champions League on his senior debut for the club.

Hamilton, an attacking midfielder who turned 20 last month, demonstrated his potential by weaving inside then outside a defender before firing a rising shot into the roof of the net to give City a 1-0 lead at Red Star Belgrade.

He also won a penalty in City's 3-2 win in the Serbian capital.

"What a goal and what a game," Guardiola, City's manager since 2016, said of Hamilton. "I am so happy for him. He is training often with us and we saw his skills one against one. He scored a fantastic goal and made a penalty.

"When he could not make one against one, he made extra passes and defensively was aggressive. Congratulations to all at the academy for the last years. How many players came up, how many players we sold who are playing already in the Premier League and Championship, and more."

England youth international Hamilton said he was "delighted" to score on his debut, adding: "It still hasn't sunk in."

Born and raised in Manchester, Hamilton joined City as a 7-year-old and has progressed through the age groups at the club.

He has been an unused substitute this season for games against Newcastle in the League Cup and Young Boys in the Champions League.

Oscar's a winner

Another young attacker, Oscar Bobb, was also on the scoresheet as City racked up sixth straight victory even with Guardiola fielding a heavily rotated team packed with fringe players, including Kalvin Phillips, who netted a late penalty.

Struggling for minutes at City, England international Phillips has recently been linked with a January move to Manchester United.

Guardiola's team will head into the knockout stage on the back of a 100 percent record in group play as it looks to retain a title his team won for the first time in June. City became the second English team to claim maximum points in the group stage, after Liverpool in 2020-21.

Hamilton set City on its way to victory in the 19th minute when he raced into the area and beat Red Star captain Aleksandar Dragovic with a shimmy before crashing a shot high into the net.

Bobb made it 2-0 in the 62nd minute when the 20-year-old advanced into the penalty area and placed a low shot into the far corner.

South Korean Hwang In-beom pulled a goal back for Red Star, who started the match in last place and was only playing for pride.

City regained its two-goal cushion after Hamilton was pulled back by Red Star defender Nasser Djiga as the winger dribbled between two defenders and toward goal.

Phillips, handed a rare start by Guardiola, converted the resulting penalty in the 85th.

There was still time for Aleksandar Katai to head home at a corner in the first minute of stoppage time.

As well as Hamilton, Guardiola heaped praise on Bobb, a Norway international whose more illustrious compatriot Erling Haaland is sidelined with a foot injury and could miss matches over Christmas.

"It was a top-class goal (by Bobb).I am very pleased for the result, for the performance in general, the effort from everyone, how the seniors helped the young lads," said Guardiola.

Agencies