Cole Palmer has reacted to Manchester City’s 3-2 win over Red Star Belgrade in the Champions League on Wednesday night. The Chelsea midfielder’s former club have booked themselves a place in the round of 16, finishing the top of their group without dropping a single point.
Micah Hamilton put the reigning champions ahead shortly into the first-half before Oscar Bobb etched himself onto the scoresheet on the hour mark. Hwang In-beom pulled one back for the Serbian outfit a quarter of an hour or so later, but Kalvin Phillips retained the visitors’ two-goal lead from 12-yards.
In the dying embers of the tie, Aleksandar Katai netted a late goal for Red Star Belgrade but City returned to the Etihad Stadium with all three points. It was a historic night for Pep Guardiola’s side; Hamilton, who joined the club at the age of nine, scored on his senior debut. How I Make Over ₦10,000 Commenting On Viral Posts Online For Free!
The 20-year-old winger featured alongside Palmer a number of times in the City academy. After the game, the Chelsea ace reposted Hamilton’s Instagram post to his story with the caption: “My boy, congrats [red heart emoji].”
Speaking to the press after the game, Guardiola hailed Hamilton for his performance and name-checked two Chelsea stars. The Spaniard said: “What a goal and what a game. I am so happy for him. He is training well and we saw his skills.
“He made a fantastic goal. Defensively he was aggressive. Congratulations to our Academy for how many players came up and how many we sell. We had Mo (Mahamadou Susoho) as well, he played really well as well.”
Guardiola later added: “It’s not easy to get opportunities at that level because in big clubs you don’t wait. In the end we wanted to put Max on but the game was not under control.
“It’s a compliment to the Academy. Cole Palmer was here. Romeo Lavia, James Trafford, [Gavin] Bazunu. Many players in our Academy are in the Premier League or Championship. They have done unbelievable. It is top class.”
While Hamilton progresses into the Champions League round of 16, Palmer and Lavia have some difficult Premier League fixtures on the horizon as Chelsea look to clamber into the top half of the table.
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