Former ballboy Micah Hamilton and fellow youngster Oscar Bobb struck as a much-changed Manchester City ended the Champions League group stage with a 3-2 win at Red Star Belgrade.
Kalvin Phillips also joined the two 20-year-olds on the scoresheet with a late penalty after manager Pep Guardiola rotated his squad for the Group G dead rubber at the Rajko Mitic Stadium.
Manchester-born academy product Hamilton marked his debut with a superb strike in the 19th minute before Norwegian Bobb, filling in for compatriot Erling Haaland up front, added the second after 62 minutes.
Hwang In-beom pulled one back but Phillips gave City breathing space with his first goal for the club after a foul on Hamilton before Aleksandar Katai headed a late home consolation.
The result meant holders City, who had already secured top spot, finished the group phase with a maximum haul of 18 points while winless Red Star ended bottom.
With City facing Crystal Palace before travelling to Saudi Arabia for the Club World Cup next week, Guardiola not only gave chances to Hamilton and Bobb but brought in fringe players such as Stefan Ortega and Phillips.
In all he made nine changes and, initially, intensity was lacking as Red Star carved out the first opportunity with Osman Bukari’s shot being blocked by John Stones.
Yet City still controlled most of the possession and Hamilton took full advantage of their first serious attack.
Jack Grealish picked out Matheus Nunes and the Portuguese prodded on for Hamilton, cutting inside from the right, to take up the attack.
Hamilton raced into the area and beat Red Star captain Aleksandar Dragovic on the outside before lashing a shot into the top corner from a tight angle.
The hosts responded with Kosta Nedeljkovic turning inside the box and curling narrowly over but City threatened again as Bobb had an effort blocked.
Hamilton almost created another goal for Bobb when he fired in a dangerous low ball from the right but the latter could not make contact at the far post. Phillips, making a rare start, then shot wide.
Hamilton went close again early in the second half when he curled a low effort just wide but City needed Ortega to keep them level.
The German first produced a good reaction save to keep out a Cherif Ndiaye volley at close range and then pushed away a firm strike from distance from Guelor Kanga.
Bobb then took centre stage as he doubled City’s lead just after the hour. He picked up possession from Rico Lewis and opted against the return pass, instead wrong-footing the defenders with a weaving run and sliding a low finish inside the far post.
Red Star rallied and, after Jovan Mijatovic hit the post, Hwang beat Ortega with a low strike to reduce the deficit after linking up with Bukari.
Yet Phillips made no mistake from the spot five minutes from time after Hamilton was brought down by Nasser Djiga and that proved decisive as Katai headed a second Red Star goal in stoppage time.
Taylor proud of 'gritty' Man City display in Hammarby victory
Gareth Taylor was pleased with how his Manchester City players handled the atmosphere against Hammarby to secure their passage into the Champions League quarter-finals.
Khadija Shaw opened the scoring in the 31st minute before Ellen Wangerheim restored parity shortly after the interval with a finish from close range.
But Shaw continued her fine start to the campaign, scoring the winner to become City's all-time top scorer in the competition, surpassing Georgia Stanway and Janine Beckie (both six).
The result saw City make it to the last eight of the competition for the first time since 2021, though the encounter was far from comfortable at the Tele2 Arena on Thursday.
Hammarby ended the contest with an expected goals (xG) total of 2.15 compared to the visitors' 1.07, despite both sides having 14 shots throughout the match.
However, City maintained their unbeaten record against Swedish sides in the competitor (W6), and Taylor was proud of his side's "gritty" display in Stockholm.
“I’m really pleased. It was about qualification for us tonight," Taylor said.
"There were a couple of ways we could do it. Obviously, we knew a point was enough, but I don’t think the players were thinking that way.
“It was a really gritty performance on a really difficult on this pitch. It probably doesn’t look like that for the viewers at home watching it.
"But it was a really lively surface and we worked so hard.
“I felt there were some areas we could control the play better. I have to give credit to Hammarby, they were really aggressive.
"The referee was on our side a little bit in the first half and maybe not in the second.
“I’m really pleased and proud of the players, they really dug in tonight. You come away from a hostile environment with a win.”
Hurtig the hero after late goal sends Arsenal into Champions League quarters
Lina Hurtig's 89th minute winner ensured Arsenal progressed to the quarter-finals of the Women's Champions League after edging Juventus 1-0 on Thursday.
After being frustrated for large parts of the encounter, Hurtig bundled home from close range after Martina Lenzini's poor clearance to book the Gunners' place in the last eight.
Despite Arsenal dominating the early exchanges, it was Juventus who had the first sight of goal, though Eva Schatzer's effort was easy for Daphne van Domselaar to gather.
In a first half that saw just two shots on target, both coming from the visitors, Renee Slegers' substitutes proved to be the difference for Arsenal.
Slegers introduced Beth Mead, Stina Blackstenius and Hurtig late on, with the latter somehow putting Kim Little's cross over the bar from five yards out.
However, the Swede would atone for her earlier error, combining with fellow substitute Blackstenius to net against her former club and send them out of the competition with two group games remaining.
Meanwhile, in Group D, Barcelona edged closer to the quarter-finals of the competition with a convincing 4-1 victory over St. Polten at the Generali Arena.
The reigning champions are still three points behind Manchester City following their 2-1 win over Hammarby, and know a win against the Swedes next month will see them progress.
Kika Nazareth opened the scoring in the 20th minute after capitalising on a mistake by Kamila Dubcova, notching her second nine minutes later from close range.
Barca found themselves three goals up at the break when Vicky Lopez netted her first goal in the competition to put the result beyond doubt.
There was also a landmark moment for Alexia Putellas, who netted her 200th goal for the club with a well-taken effort into the far corner.
Valentina Madl took some of the shine off an otherwise impressive display from the visitors, who have now taken their tally to 20 goals from their four matches in the competition.
Guardiola agrees two-year contract extension with Man City
Pep Guardiola will be Manchester City manager for at least two more seasons after 2024-25, after he signed a two-year contract extension on Thursday.
The 53-year-old was coming to the end of his City deal, which was due to expire at the end of the current campaign, but he has opted to remain at the Etihad Stadium.
The deal itself will take Guardiola's tenure at the club to over a decade, making him City's longest-serving manager since Les McDowall in 1963.
There had been suggestions that he may leave at the end of the season following the announcement that director of football Txiki Begiristain was on his way out.
Guardiola was strongly linked with the England job after Gareth Southgate resigned in the wake of their Euro 2024 final defeat, but the Football Association appointed Thomas Tuchel last month.
“Manchester City means so much to me," Guardiola said. “This is my ninth season here; we have experienced so many amazing times together. I have a really special feeling for this football club.
“That is why I am so happy to be staying for another two more seasons.
“Thank you to everyone for continuing to trust and support me – The Owner, The Chairman Khaldoon, Ferran, Txiki, the players and, of course, the fans… everyone connected to Manchester City. It has always been an honour, a pleasure and a privilege to be here.
“I have said this many times before, but I have everything a manager could ever wish for, and I appreciate that so much.
“Hopefully, now we can add more trophies to the ones we have already won. That will be my focus.”
Having been appointed in 2016, Guardiola is by some distance Manchester City's most successful manager of all time, having won 18 major trophies during his time at the club.
That list includes their first-ever Champions League triumph in 2023 and six Premier League titles, including an unprecedented four on the spin.
He also boasts a 72.04% win percentage across all competitions, which is unsurprisingly the highest of any full-time City manager in history.
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