Man City vs Red Star Belgrade LIVE: Champions League result as Julian Alvarez hits double in comeback win

Here come the teams. Manchester City are defending the Champions League trophy which is one of the most difficult prizes to win back-to-back.

Pep Guardiola has set his sights on that goal this year so he’ll be hoping his men get off to a perfect start tonight. Kick off is up next.

Erling Haaland scored 12 goals in the Champions League last season, more than any other player. However, the Man City striker has failed to score in his last three appearances, his longest run without a goal in the competition.

Will he get back on the scoresheet tonight?

Manchester City boast an impressive record at the Etihad Stadium in this competition. They have not lost in any of their last 25 encounters here.

It is a run that stretches back to a 2-1 loss against Lyon on Matchday 1 back in 2018/19.

There was a rare wistfulness around the Champions League draw in Monaco, where football’s most powerful and wealthy gathered in a fittingly ostentatious setting. An era was about to pass.

If the competition’s group stage has recently become a round to pay minimal attention to, this is a season to really savour it. That is because it’s the last one before the introduction of the Swiss system.

This will be the last campaign we go through the satisfying symmetry of the round-robin, hoping it builds up to one of those final matchdays – part of a lexicon that is the stage’s legacy – where it is anything but symmetrical and chaos reigns. The clean nature of the format has produced some wonderfully untidy endings.

Pep Guardiola has challenged his Manchester City side to achieve something special and win back-to-back Champions League titles.

The treble winners begin the defence of their European crown as they host Red Star Belgrade at the Etihad Stadium on Tuesday.

City finally put years of near-misses behind them to win the competition for the first time last season but, while Guardiola is proud of their achievements, he feels their mission is not yet over.

The City manager said at a press conference: “I’d like to say that for our club to win the Champions League is incredible – the first time in our history – but, in perspective, how many teams have won the Champions League once?

It’s the end of an era for the Champions League, as the tournament plays out the last season of its current format before major changes are introduced in 2024.

The most significant reforms to the Champions League in a generation were announced by Uefa in 2021, days before the failed European Super League plot was launched back in 2021, and they received unanimous backing from the European Club Association and Uefa Club Competitions Committee.

It confirmed plans to change the format of European football’s top club competition from 2024, giving the tournament its first new look in 20 years. The proposals were not met with the same level of backlash that greeted the Super League plans but were still criticised by leading fans’ groups, including the Football Supporters’ Association [FSA].

Pep Guardiola spoke about his No. 1 goalkeeper, Ederson, ahead of Man City’s Champions League opener and explained why he feels the Brazilian is only going from strength to strength.

“He’s matured and he’s getting even better,” Guardiola said on Tuesday, “We are a team that doesn’t concede too much and I have the feeling that when the opponents arrive he is there.

“The first save in the one-on-one against [Michail] Antonio, the moments he makes the last touch a little bit longer he was there.

“Especially the corner, with [James] Ward-Prowse he is an incredible threat, and [Kurt] Zouma with the tall incredible headers but he made a good save and at that moment it was 1-1.

“We had 16/17 shots in the first half against West Ham which is quite impressive, but these details make the difference and Ederson was there again.”

As part of his media duties in the build-up to tonight’s match, Kyle Walker explained his decision to stay at Manchester City and sign another contract extension.

“Why should I want to leave this great team?” said Walker when asked why he decided to stay at City, “For me it was just about the years [on the contract].

“I’m 33 years young and I still feel great. For me it was about settling in, I didn’t really want to sign another year to then have this conversation again next year. I wanted to be settled not just for me but for my family as well.

“I feel that now I am settled, you see in the performances that I don’t have it in the back of my mind because it does play on your mind where you know you’ve got a little bit of uncertainty.

“I want to stay at this Club for as long as possible because why would I leave a team that’s gone on and won three Premier Leagues in a row, a Treble and a Champions League?

“If I’d have left in the summer I don’t go and score the winning penalty at the Super Cup and lift that. It’s working out so far but it’s early days.

“Nothing’s decided at this moment in time in the Premier League or any other competition and we need to make sure that, as we are nine times out of 10, there into the later stages.”

TNT Sports’ football coverage will be led by four female presenters this season as it seeks to “push the boundaries” of sports broadcasting.

TNT Sports is the new name for the channel formerly known as BT Sport, with Laura Woods confirmed as host of its Champions League coverage alongside Reshmin Chowdhury. Jake Humphrey, who fronted BT’s Champions League coverage last season, stepped back from his role in May.

Lynsey Hipgrave will continue to host live Premier League coverage on TNT Sports, having done so since the start of last season, while Jules Breach has replaced Des Kelly as the broadcaster’s pitchside reporter.

Red Star won last season’s Serbian title without losing a game, but they changed managers this summer and have lost two of their last three games under Barak Bakhar.