Pese a que el City salio en Serbia con un equipo lleno de suplentes, ademas de canteranos, de los que al menos uno estaba debutando en el primer equipo de Manchester, el conjunto de Guardiola consiguio una muy luchada y merecida victoria, que le permite cerrar la fase de grupos de la Champions League con puntaje perfecto, una proeza solo alcanzada de igual forma por el Real Madrid. En frente tuvieron al Estrella Roja de Belgrano, el equipo mas debil del grupo, pero que en la liga domestica es una total aplanadora, al sumar mas de 120 partidos en los cuales no ha conocido la derrota por el torneo de regularidad de su pais, aunque en esta fase de grupos se vio con un nivel muy bajo, al solo conseguir 1 punto en las 6 fechas.

Despite the fact that City came out in Serbia with a team full of substitutes, in addition to youth players, of which at least one was making his debut in the Manchester first team, Guardiola's team achieved a hard-fought and well-deserved victory, which allows them to close the group stage of the Champions League with a perfect score, a feat only achieved in the same way by Real Madrid. In front of them they had Estrella Roja de Belgrano, the weakest team in the group, but in the domestic league it is a total steamroller, adding more than 120 games in which it has not known defeat due to its country's regularity tournament. although in this group stage they had a very low level, only getting 1 point in the 6 dates.

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La nota mas positiva de la noche fue para Micah Hamilton, un extremo ingles de 20 años que estaba debutando con los citizens, pero esa falta de inexperiencia no se vio en el terreno de juego, pues no solo abrio el marcador luego de una individualidad excelente, donde con dos amagos se saco a dos marcas y definio con fuerza al primer palo, sino que ademas, influyo en el sistema defensivo de los locales, que tuvieron que duplicar marcas por su banda en vista de todo el peligro que estaba generando, sumado a que tambien consiguio una pena maxima en los ultimos minutos, que permitio a los ingleses cerrar un partido que llego a complicarseles por momentos.

The most positive note of the night went to Micah Hamilton, a 20-year-old English winger who was making his debut with the citizens, but that lack of inexperience was not seen on the field of play, as he not only opened the scoring after excellent individuality , where with two feints he took out two marks and strongly defined the near post, but also influenced the defensive system of the locals, who had to double marks on their wing in view of all the danger that was generating, added because he also got a maximum penalty in the last minutes, which allowed the English to close a game that became complicated for them at times.

Otro jugador que tambien me llamo la atencion fue el portero aleman Stefan Ortega, en la primera parte tuvo dos atajadas increibles, una luego de volar para repeler un disparo de larga distancia, y en la la otra, mostro sus reflejos para despejar un disparo a quemarropa con el brazo, pero mas alla de las actitudes de guardameta, el juego con los pies tambien fue muy llamativo, rompio en varias ocasiones las lineas de presion con sus pases certeros, iniciando la mayoria de ataques, algo que siempre me ha gustado de Guardiola, pues sin importar el esquema o los jugadores, el estilo es algo no negociable.

Another player who also caught my attention was the German goalkeeper Stefan Ortega, in the first half he had two incredible saves, one after flying to repel a long-distance shot, and in the other, he showed his reflexes to clear a shot from point-blank range with his arm, but beyond the goalkeeper's attitudes, the play with his feet was also very striking, he broke the lines of pressure on several occasions with his accurate passes, initiating the majority of attacks, something that I have always liked about him. Guardiola, well regardless of the scheme or the players, style is something non-negotiable.

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Tambien puedo brillar con luz propia el delantero Oscar Bobb, que ya ha tenido un poco mas de rodaje en el primer equipo, jugando la primera parte en punta, mientras que en la segunda parte tuvo que irse mas a la banda izquierda, cediendo el puesto de falso 9 a Foden, pero esto no le resto movilidad a su juego como vimos en su gol, pues luego de tomarla a casi 30 metros de la porteria, se va en velocidad de sus marcadores, definiendo al segundo palo luego de perfilarse en el area. El otro goleador del partido fue Kalvin Phillips, que cobro una pena maxima lo que significo su primer tanto como citizen, y tal vez, su despedida del equipo, al no encontrar las oportunidades esperadas.

Striker Oscar Bobb can also shine with his own light, who has already had a little more experience in the first team, playing the first half as a forward, while in the second half he had to go more to the left wing, giving up his position. of false 9 to Foden, but this did not take away the mobility of his game as we saw in his goal, because after taking it almost 30 meters from the goal, he left at the speed of his markers, defining the far post after looming in the area. The other scorer of the game was Kalvin Phillips, who took a maximum penalty which meant his first goal as a citizen, and perhaps, his farewell from the team, as he did not find the expected opportunities.

Pero no todo es positivo, ya que hay un dato muy llamativo de este version 2023/2024 del Manchester City, pues en 25 partidos oficiales hasta este momento, solo en 5 han dejado su porteria en 0. En este partido, el primer gol lo recibieron luego de un desajuste en el equipo segundos despues de un cambio, pues el recien ingresado Susoho, que entro por Kovavic, que estaba jugando en el doble pivote con Phillips, no llego a su posicion, dejando un espacio que aprovecharon los serbios para descontar en el marcador, jugada que deja en evidencia las multiples desatenciones que ha sufrido la defensa Sky Blue en esta temporada, aunque tampoco es algo extremadamente preocupante, pues estas carencias son tapadas con sus cifras goleadoras, siendo el mejor equipo en este reglon en la fase de grupos, con 18 anotaciones.

But not everything is positive, since there is a very striking fact about this 2023/2024 version of Manchester City, because in 25 official matches up to this moment, only in 5 have they left their goal at 0. In this match, the first goal was they received after a mismatch in the team seconds after a change, since the recently entered Susoho, who entered for Kovavic, who was playing in the double pivot with Phillips, did not reach his position, leaving a space that the Serbs took advantage of to discount on the scoreboard, a play that reveals the multiple inattentions that the Sky Blue defense has suffered this season, although it is not something extremely worrying either, since these shortcomings are covered by their scoring figures, being the best team in this area in the phase of groups, with 18 goals.

Hablando un poco del Estrella Roja, mas alla de sus records locales, el nivel de juego no fue demasiado convincente, pese a jugar contra una version B del City, aunque hubo un jugador que me llamo mi atencion, el surcoreano Hwang In-Beom, que no solo marco el primer descuento al aprovechar un error de Phillips y Ortega en la salida del balon y dio la asistencia del segundo gol, sino que ademas fue el unico del medio campo que siempre estuvo bien posicionado, ofreciendose para salir con el balon jugado, sino que ademas recupero varios balones en la medular, frenando a Matheus Nunes en el City, quien en teoria era el encargado de la distribucion de juego.

Speaking a little about Red Star, beyond their local records, the level of play was not very convincing, despite playing against a B version of City, although there was one player who caught my attention, the South Korean Hwang In-Beom, who not only marked the first discount by taking advantage of an error by Phillips and Ortega when the ball was released and provided the assist for the second goal, but he was also the only one in the midfield who was always well positioned, offering to come out with the ball played , but also recovered several balls in the midfield, stopping Matheus Nunes at City, who in theory was in charge of game distribution.

Ya con el final de la primera fase de la Champions, y con una Premier League que se le esta complicando a los de Pep, ya que en los ultimos juegos han encadenado una serie de resultados negativos, que entre otras cosas le han hecho perder la primera posicion de la tabla, los de Manchester llegaran con sus principales piezas un poco mas descansadas para recuperar el ritmo ante el Crystal Palace, pues aunque estan a solo 4 puntos de la cima, ocupada en este momento por el Liverpool de Klopp, luego del juego tendran que hacer maletas para ir a Arabia Saudita a jugar el Mundial de Clubes, situacion no muy placentera ya que tendran que reprogramar varios partidos, sumando mas minutos, aumentando la probabilidad de lesiones, y quien sabe, tal vez tambien la brecha con el lider.

With the end of the first phase of the Champions League, and with a Premier League that is becoming complicated for Pep's team, since in the last games they have chained a series of negative results, which among other things have made him lose the first position in the table, those from Manchester will arrive with their main pieces a little more rested to regain the rhythm against Crystal Palace, because although they are only 4 points from the top, currently occupied by Klopp's Liverpool, after the game they will have to pack their bags to go to Saudi Arabia to play the Club World Cup, a not very pleasant situation since they will have to reschedule several games, adding more minutes, increasing the probability of injuries, and who knows, maybe also the gap with the leader.

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Como opinion personal, aunque me gustaria que los citizens cayeran y no pudieran revalidar sus titulos, sobre todo porque quiero volver a ver al Arsenal en la cima de Inglaterra, en este momento son nuevamente los favoritos para ganar las principales competiciones, y pese al bajon de las ultimas semanas, en la fase final de la temporada los de Guardiola siempre se enchufan, logrando remontadas historicas en la Premier League, por lo que si sus otros rivales no estan minimo en un nivel de juego de excelencia, no habra forma de pararlos en Inglaterra, aunque en Europa si es mas comp0licado repetir el titulo ante otros rivales de gran nivel actual como el Bayern Munich o el Real Madrid, o equipos que pienso que seran una sorpresa, como el mismo Arsenal o el PSG de Luis Enrique.

As a personal opinion, although I would like the citizens to fall and not be able to revalidate their titles, especially because I want to see Arsenal at the top of England again, at this moment they are once again the favorites to win the main competitions, and despite the drop of the last few weeks, in the final phase of the season, Guardiola's men always come into their own, achieving historic comebacks in the Premier League, so if their other rivals are not at least at a level of excellence, there will be no way to stop them. in England, although in Europe it is more complicated to repeat the title against other current high-level rivals such as Bayern Munich or Real Madrid, or teams that I think will be a surprise, such as Arsenal themselves or Luis Enrique's PSG.