Author of an excellent performance Thursday against Liverpool (3-2), the young side Rico Lewis received the compliments of Josep Guardiola. The Manchester City coach thinks big for his defender.
Lewis, the new Manchester City nugget
The way he played was exceptional, he was the man of the match. Josep Guardiola’s remarks after Manchester City’s victory against Liverpool in the Carabao Cup (3-2) on Thursday were not intended for Kevin De Bruyne, author of a huge match and two decisive assists. No, the Citizens coach was talking about young Rico Lewis.
Holder for the third time this season, the 18-year-old right-back delivered a very good score. Rarely sticking to his line, this right-back capable of evolving in midfield tended to go into the axis to participate in the development of the game, touching 90 balls during the meeting. His qualities combining speed, technique and reactivity, as well as a football IQ well above average, allowed him to have a very valuable role, both defensively and offensively. And there is no doubt that we should see him again very often on the lawn.
A maddening precocity
Arrived at the Skyblues at the age of 8, Rico experienced a meteoric progression in Manchester. At only 15 years old, he already joined the U18s before becoming their captain afterwards. His fine performances in the youth categories enabled him to sign his first professional contract last July, then to take part in the pre-season camp with the first team. Among the Mancunian stars, the English U19 international immediately impressed Guardiola.
I discovered him in training and I thought: “Oh, this guy has something special!” With the right players, it takes no more than two minutes to understand their quality , confided the former FC Barcelona coach in early November. Lewis had just scored the first goal of his professional career against FC Sville (3-1) in the Champions League, thus becoming, 17 years and 346 days, the youngest player in the history of the competition to score for his first tenure.
J. Guardiola – he will be an absolutely amazing player for Manchester City
For Guardiola, Lewis is not an ephemeral prodigy. The Catalan is sure to see his player shine in the years to come. We can think that Rico Lewis will have a great decade, launched the Mancunian coach on Thursday. He will be an absolutely incredible player for Manchester City in the next few years, because he is so intelligent, so humble, that he understands everything in a second and applies everything to everything that comes up. So we have an incredible right-back with us for years to come. Strong words from a tactician who was rarely mistaken about the talent of his young players.
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