What Pep Guardiola did after Ederson’s Cruyff turn in Man City win over Crvena Zvezda

Manchester City fans in the Etihad Stadium had their hearts in their mouths during the piece of skill and so did Guardiola.

Isaac Johnson Leeds United reporter

08:00, 20 Sep 2023

Ederson cut it fine(Image: TNT Sports)

Manchester City got their Champions League title defence off to a win against Red Star Belgrade but not without hiccup.

Osman Bukari gave the visitors a shock 1-0 lead on the stroke of half-time with a counter-attacking goal that was awarded by VAR after initially being ruled out for offside. City hit back within 80 seconds of the restart through Julian Alvarez before the Argentine scored a sublime goal to put the hosts ahead on 60 minutes.

Rodri made sure of the win with a classy finish on 73 minutes to hand Pep Guardiola his 102nd Champions League victory. City will come up against RB Leipzig - who beat Young Boys 3-1 - next in the competition.

Here are a number of things City fans may have missed during the win over Red Star.

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Guardiola’s reaction to Ederson

Midway through the second half, Ederson decided to perform a Cruyff turn 30 yards out from goal with Cherif Ndiaye charging him down. The goalkeeper completed the skill and just about kept the ball away from the attacker, much to the relief of the Blue section of the Etihad.

Guardiola was less than impressed. He too had his heart in his mouth and showed his relief when the ball went to safety. The Catalan coach gave a look of horror before wiping his brow with his hand.

Guardiola was mightily relieved (Image: TNT Sports)

Nunes lifts crowd

Matheus Nunes made his first City start after making his debut as a substitute against West Ham on Saturday. He played sublimely and showed some very neat touches in the centre of the park.

At one stage, his quick footwork saw him charge into the box before winning a corner. He gave a quick fist pump to the crowd in celebration to mark a terrific shift for the Portuguese playmaker.

Haaland frustration in stats

Haaland - who has seven goals this season - has now not scored in his last four Champions League games. He fired six efforts at the Red Star goal with both his boot and his head but could not find the net.

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The striker only had 16 touches all game, which is not atypical, but it shows how little action Haaland sees. Ederson, for example, had 33 touches. Sixteen touches was the fewest he had in his last three games for club and country, and was the only game of three he failed to score in.