Manchester City got their preseason tour of America off to a stumbling start by losing 4-3 to Celtic.
Goals from Oscar Bobb, Maximo Perrone and Erling Haaland weren’t enough for the Blues to secure a victory in the first of their four friendly matches in America.
Even though City lost and conceded four goals in the process, many players in the current squad got some valuable minutes under their belts ahead of their upcoming matches against AC Milan, Barcelona and Chelsea.
After the match against the Scottish champions, Pep Guardiola shared some heavy praise for one particular player and what he delivered on the pitch on this occasion.
Pep Guardiola praises Rico Lewis for his performance in Celtic defeat
Despite the defeat, Guardiola was full of praise for Rico Lewis and his efforts in the game, saying this about the 19-year-old in his post-match press conference (via Man City’s official website).
He said: “Rico is exceptional and can play in the pocket, maybe it’s his natural position but we didn’t have players in the back four.
“He’s so dynamic, first control, vision, it’s really good and I was very pleased with his performance.”
Lewis has staked an early claim to play regularly this season
Looking back over last season, Lewis appeared in 27 matches across all competitions, starting 17 of them.
Having been deployed in a range of different defensive and midfield positions, chipping in with two goals and four assists along the way, it’s clear that the teenager is a useful and versatile figure in Guardiola’s squad.
Prior to the match against Celtic, the Englishman admitted that his aim for the upcoming season is to play in an attacking-midfield role.
Now that he has impressed his manager in this first preseason friendly match, we feel that Lewis has put himself in a good position to potentially become a more prominent figure in the City team when the season eventually kicks off.
