Pep Guardiola hailed Rico Lewis as “something special” after {the teenager} grew to become Manchester City’s youngest Champions League goalscorer on Wednesday.
The right-back, aged 17 years and 346 days, marked his first senior begin by netting City’s equaliser as they got here from behind to beat Sevilla 3-1 of their last Champions League group sport.
It was a candy second for the Manchester-born teenager, who took full benefit of a chance to play within the persevering with absence of injured England worldwide Kyle Walker.
“We don’t give presents because he is a Man City fan or from the academy,” mentioned City supervisor Guardiola. “You have to earn it.
“But we’ve seen him since day one of pre-season. This guy has something special.
“Defensively he is aggressive and with the ball he is so good. Of course he has a lot to improve but the academy here is working amazingly.”
Lewis’ strike early within the second half cancelled out a first-half header from Rafa Mir and City went on to win comfortably with additional objectives from Julian Alvarez and Riyad Mahrez.
Lewis was substituted 5 minutes from time and, as he was on the far aspect of the sector on the time, earned an enormous reception as he walked across the area again to the bench.
“He made a standing ovation all the way round,” mentioned Guardiola. “He played really good.
“He is 17 years old but he is so clever, so intelligent. You say something, he understands everything. I’m happy for him.”
It was additionally night time for Alvarez, who scored one and offered the passes for the opposite two objectives.
Guardiola mentioned: “There is no one player in the locker room who is not happy for him. He is a special guy. He was patient and found the space and got the rewards he deserved.”
There had been little driving on the sport with City already by to the final 16 as Group G winners.
Guardiola mentioned: “Of course we had qualified but we finished well. For the money and the prestige it is good for the club. It was a good night for us, especially the second half.”
Sevilla boss Jorge Sampaoli felt his aspect pale after a robust begin.
The former Argentina supervisor, who was appointed final month and is bidding to show round a poor begin to the season, mentioned: “We were quite comfortable and controlling the game.
“We put in a great effort mentally and physically but then shot ourselves in the foot with a couple of unforced errors, which spoiled a lot of the good work we did.”
Source: www.impartial.co.uk