Manchester City’s Rico Lewis eager to seize midfield chance

Rico Lewis is determined to seize any opportunities to impress in the Manchester City midfield.

The England international did just that with a strong showing in City’s 2-0 win at Villarreal in the Champions League on Tuesday.

Most of the 20-year-old’s outings have come at right-back, but manager Pep Guardiola gave him a run in his preferred central position at the Estadio de la Ceramica.

He responded, in what was just his fourth start of the season, with an energetic display and linked well with team-mates, most notably providing the assist for Erling Haaland’s opener.

“There is nothing better than playing and I’m obviously happy to be playing in midfield as well,” said the City academy graduate. “Most importantly we got the three points so there are no complaints from me.

“Obviously it is difficult (coming in), but I was that excited that it masked that difficulty. I knew I needed to go and prove a point.

“I needed to prove myself because I’ve always wanted to play in midfield and talk about it all the time. When I get the opportunity, I want to take it.

“It was a difficult game – they’re a good team – but I think that I found the spaces and got an assist so I can’t really ask for more.”

Lewis may have looked comfortable as he slotted into his role alongside captain Bernardo Silva and Nico Gonzalez, but he insisted it was far from a straightforward assignment.

“It didn’t feel like that, I was so tired,” he said. “After 10 minutes I was thinking, ‘I don’t think I’m going to be able to make it to half-time’, but the basics are always going to be there.

“You can’t play for five games in a row, but the team is so good that you fit in. We do it so much in training, you know the spaces.

“You can be playing or not playing, but everybody knows where everyone is going to be. It’s a good sign early on that we have that kind of structure already and it will only progress.”

City took control when Haaland swept in Lewis’ cutback after 16 minutes. It was the prolific Norwegian’s 15th goal of the campaign and a remarkable 24th in just 14 outings for club and country.

It was also the 12th game in succession in which he has struck and a 53rd goal in the Champions League, moving him 10th on the list of the competition’s top scorers.

Silva doubled the lead with a powerful header before the interval and victory did not seem in doubt, although the night could have got uncomfortable had Villarreal taken one of a handful of second-half chances.

Lewis said: “The performance, coming with a result like that, helps more than you think.

“You can win 1-0 and it be a bit scrappy and you can be happy while knowing that the performance wasn’t good. But having a performance like that with a clean sheet and two goals is amazing.”