Pep Guardiola lavished praise on Rico Lewis after the youngster impressed in Manchester City’s 3-2 win over Liverpool in the EFL Cup round of 16.
Manchester City faced fierce rivals Liverpool in their first competitive match since the winter break and came out on top, knocking the Reds out of the EFL Cup. Pep Guardiola gave Rico Lewis a start and the 18-year-old right-back featured throughout the game for Manchester City.
Against Liverpool, Erling Haaland put Manchester City ahead 10 minutes into the game. Liverpool restored parity through Fabio Carvalho in the 20th minute of the game. Manchester City then took a lead through Riyad Mahrez in the 47th minute before Mohamed Salah scored an equalizer a minute later.
However, Manchester City sealed the win with Nathan Ake adding his name to the score after 57 minutes. The result sealed Manchester City’s progression to the next stage of the EFL Cup.
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Pep Guardiola praises Rico Lewis
Speaking after the game, Pep Guardiola praised Rico Lewis, whom he opined was the ‘man of the match’. Pep Guardiola said that he felt they couldn’t have played like they did against Liverpool without Rico Lewis.
The Manchester City manager also predicted that Rico Lewis will be an ‘incredible’ player for Cityzens in the coming years. “I had the feeling that without him we couldn’t play the way we played. Absolutely impressed to be so young, today he played against a really senior team, ”said Pep Guardiola.
“It’s not about intelligence with the ball, it’s about without the ball. We had the privilege of almost announcing that this guy is going to have a great decade, he’s going to be an absolutely amazing player for Manchester City for years to come because he’s so smart, so humble, he understands everything in a second and applies everything. We have an incredible right-back with us for the next few years.
“He always plays well, but especially against Liverpool, Núñez, Salah, Thiago and Robertson on his side. He is 18 years old. The way he plays was outstanding. He was the man of the match”.
Rico Lewis, who graduated from Manchester City’s academy, made his senior team debut for the defending Premier League champions in August 2022.
Rico Lewis has so far featured in seven games in all competitions for Manchester City. He has also scored a goal for the English club.
