Pep Guardiola was full of praise for Rico Lewis after he put in another influential performance for Manchester City.
After Guardiola said Lewis was worthy of Man of the Match against Liverpool in the Carabao Cup last week, the 18-year-old was rewarded with his first Premier League start at Leeds on Wednesday night. Explaining that decision before the game, Guardiola said it would be 'impossible' to play better than Lewis did against Liverpool, and he fully deserved to keep his place.
With Joao Cancelo and Kyle Walker on the bench, this was Lewis' biggest start to date, and he passed his latest City test with flying colours at a feisty Elland Road.
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Drifting between right-back and defensive midfield, Lewis barely put a foot wrong and linked well with Kevin De Bruyne and Rodri on the right-hand side. Had Jack Grealish found the target from six yards in the first half, Lewis would also have registered an assist.
He was replaced in the second half after his back-to-back starts, but Guardiola made sure to praise Lewis after the game as the manager waxed lyrical over Lewis' understanding of City's system and importance to their match-winning performance.
"All the process we can do is thanks to Rico and Rodri," Guardiola told Amazon Prime.
"Without him, what we could do would be more difficult. It's not easy to play that position. Defensively, he understands the game so clever, that's why he helps us to do our dynamics much better.
"Otherwise the players in the middle have to be good. Again, against Chelsea and Liverpool in the Carabao Cup, and today in Elland Road, wow. He played really, really well."
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