Guardiola hails academy as City youngsters shine in Belgrade

Pep Guardiola hailed Manchester City's academy after Micah Hamilton and Oscar Bobb both scored in a 3-2 win against Crvena zvezda in the Champions League.

Debutant Hamilton put City ahead after 19 minutes when he burst into the penalty area before firing into the roof of the net.

Bobb also scored his first goal for the club in the second half with a composed finish after a mazy run. 

The pair's performances led Guardiola to put an emphasis on City's academy and how productive it has been in recent years. 

He said: "Congratulations to the academy for the last years — how many players came up, how many players we sold to the Premier League and Championship and even more.

"Cole Palmer was here and Brahim Diaz — many players came from here for many years. 

"Romeo Lavia, Gavin Bazunu, James Trafford. Many players are now playing in the Premier League and Championship because the academy works very well. 

"As the first team manager I just get the work behind the scenes but it is really good to see them doing so well."

The Spaniard was also full of praise for the two goalscorers, namely the impressive execution of their respective strikes.

He added: "What a goal [by Hamilton], eh! And what a game. I'm so happy for him.

"He's training quite often with us, we saw his skills up front 1-vs-1 and he made a fantastic goal and penalty and when he could not be 1-vs-1 he gave extra passes. Defensively he was aggressive too.

"Oscar is the reality. The goal he has done is unbelievable. It's a really, really top-class goal. 

"I'm very pleased for the result, for the performance in general and the effort from everyone. How the seniors helped the young lads and winning helps to win more.

"It happened against Luton and helped us a lot to win today and hopefully will help us to win the next games."