Chelsea star Cole Palmer sends message to Manchester City star after his sensational performance in UCL fixture
Chelsea star Cole Palmer has hailed his former side Manchester City's Micah Hamilton for his sensational Champions League debut on Wednesday.
Hamilton opened the scoring for the Cityzens in Belgrade with a goal in the 19th minute as the 20-year-old announced his arrival with a bang.
Palmer, who left City for Chelsea this summer for more gametime ahead of next year's Euro 2024, praised Hamilton for his moment of reckoning.
He reposted the youngster's Instagram post on his story with the caption:
"My boy, congrats [red heart emoji]."
Upon collecting a pass from Matheus Nunes at the edge of the box, Hamilton controlled the ball wonderfully under pressure before firing home from a tight angle as Manchester City were in front.
Red Star Belgrade eventually struck twice but Pep Guardiola's side had done enough to win the match as Hamilton's debut goal didn't go in vain.
Palmer and Hamilton had played together several times at Manchester City's academy. The former first broke into the senior team in September 2020, at 18 years of age, but could never really nail down a place in their starting XI.
Hamilton, off the mark in his first senior game with the Premier League champions, will be hoping for a different fate.
Manchester City canter into the knockout stages with six wins from six
Manchester City wrapped up their group stages in the Champions League with six wins and 18 points to canter into the Round of 16. This is also the first time in the club's history to register a 100% win record in the first round of the competition.
The treble winners were absolutely dominant throughout the phase, scoring 18 goals and conceding only seven. Not even RB Leipzig, who've ruffled City's feathers in the past, were able to stop the juggernaut this time around.
Even as their domestic form continues to go through the motions, City's performances on the European stage have been stellar and their title defense is off to a great start. On Monday, the holders will learn their last 16 fate at the draw.