Rico Lewis: Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola says teenager is ‘one of the best’ players he’s ever coached

By James On Oct 4, 2023

Pep Guardiola hailed Rico Lewis as one of the best players he has ever coached after starring in Manchester City’s Champions League win at RB Leipzig.

The 18-year-old put in an impressive performance as the holders kept up the winning start to their Champions League defense with a 3-1 success at the Red Bull Arena on Wednesday.

Lewis, who broke into the first team as a right-back last season, had a hand in Phil Foden’s opening goal and proved City’s main driving force throughout.

City manager Guardiola, the former Barcelona boss whose past players have included Lionel Messi, Xavi and Andres Iniesta, said: “What a player! What a player!

“I have been a manager for fourteen or fifteen years and have been lucky enough to train one of the best players in the world in Barcelona.

“To see a player like him play in the pockets, how to move as a midfielder and move in the spaces, he is by far one of the best I have ever trained.

“He’s a modest guy, he doesn’t talk much. He hasn’t played much this season, but he’s going to play a lot.”

Despite Lewis’ contributions, the introduction of replacements Julian Alvarez and Jeremy Doku was necessary to secure a hard-fought win.

City controlled the first half and led at half-time through Foden’s strike in the 25th minute, but they were allowed back after the restart by Lois Openda.

The second half was a frustrating affair with Erling Haaland missing several chances and Foden hitting the crossbar, but Alvarez broke through with a stunning effort on 84 minutes.

Doku secured a second successive win in Group G in stoppage time and after back-to-back defeats on home soil, Guardiola was happy to bounce back to victory.

He said: “Three or four days ago there was no progress because we lost at Wolves. It was important to break that.

“We played a fantastic match in all departments. In the second half we conceded two or three transitions, but that is normal. If a team can make a lot of passes early on, very nice things will happen in the match.

“The guys who came off the bench, the contribution they made is the most important point. Everyone helped each other. I’m really satisfied. It was a tough match.”

Lewis shows enormous promise for Man City

Sky Sports’ Ben site:

“The presence of Rodri, who is currently serving a domestic ban, brought a noticeable calm that was missing in his absence in Saturday’s defeat to Wolves.

“Yet it was Rico Lewis, playing alongside him in midfield, who turned heads with his determination to win possession and some big runs.

“Lewis had City’s first serious chance after a nice turn in the penalty area, but his shot was blocked. He always showed up and was always involved.

“City’s opener came after 25 minutes after another strike from Lewis, finished by Phil Foden, made in Manchester.

“At 1-1, Erling Haaland almost found the late breakthrough before it happened, thanks to Lewis’s beautiful five-yard pass. Some began to question City’s depth after two consecutive defeats, but here came an emphatic answer.”

What’s next for Man City?

Manchester cityNext up is a huge Premier League match Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium, live on Air sports from 4 p.m Super Sunday (starting at 4:30 PM).

Pep Guardiola’s team was then the host Brighton in the Premier League on 21 October (3pm kick-off) before returning to Champions League action on 25 October with a trip to Young boys (starting at 8 p.m.).