Rico Lewis: What Pep Guardiola and Phil Foden said about Man City star after RB Leipzig win

Rico Lewis was the standout performer for Manchester City in Wednesday’s Champions League victory over RB Leipzig.

The teenager was deployed in  midfield instead of his usual full-back role, and Lewis was exceptional for the Blues at the Red Bull Arena. The academy product regularly advanced in possession, and created several chances for team-mates, including Phil Foden’s opening goal.

It was one of three City scored in Leipzig, along with late strikes from Julian Alvarez and Jeremy Doku, as the European champions came away with a 3-1 win in the group stage.

But despite not getting on the scoresheet, it was Lewis who was the major talking point after the game, and both Foden and Pep Guardiola were asked about the youngster in their post-match interviews.

“I thought he was brilliant today in midfield - he broke a lot of lines,” opined Foden, when speaking to TNT Sports. “Rico has the courage to play at such a young age and I’m happy for him. It's nice to have an academy player on the pitch with me today, so I'm really happy for him.”

As for Guardiola, he claimed the only thing Lewis lacks in his game is height. “Wow! He’s an amazing player,” said the former Barcelona manager. “I have been a manager for 15 years and to find a player who moves really well, depends what happens in the pockets or holding midfielder or full-back coming inside - it is difficult to find something like this.

"He is just 18 years old and has a huge personality, can play in four or five positions and is not scared. His defending is really good. Apart from [height] he has everything. He is a fantastic player."