Pep Guardiola‘s defending champions began with attacking intent, but found themselves up against an inspired Red Star goalkeeper Omri Glazer, who denied Rodrigo and Nathan Ake in spectacular fashion.
With the clock ticking into first-half stoppage time, the visitors took the lead against the run of play, with Osman Bukari racing through on goal to slot in confidently beyond Ederson.
As was the case against West Ham United three days ago, we emerged from the interval with a spring in our step and levelled the score two minutes after the break through Alvarez, who rounded Glazer and tapped into an empty net from a tight angle.
The comeback was complete on the hour mark, with a curling Alvarez free-kick evading the fist of Glazer and nestling into the corner of the net for his second goal of the evening.
CITY+ | SIGN UP TO ACCESS EXCLUSIVE CONTENT
With just under 20 minutes remaining, Rodrigo, our Champions League hero in the final of the competition last season, curled in a superb third under the Etihad Stadium floodlights.
The three points take us to joint top spot in the group alongside RB Leipzig, who also won 3-1 tonight against Young Boys.
View the best images from the victory via our gallery below.
