Manchester City are through to the fourth round of the Carabao Cup after beating Watford 2-1 at the Etihad Stadium.
Manchester City survived a late scare to get back to winning ways, after draws against Inter and Arsenal.
Jeremy Doku and Matheus Nunes got the goals in the first-half for City, and it was a very one-sided game for the most-part.
But Watford gave themselves hope late on when Tom Ince scored for the Hornets.
It was an uncomfortable end to the game for Pep’s side, but a win is a win.
There were several changes to the side that started against Arsenal, and there was a surprise debut for 16-year-old Kaden Braithwaite, with fans left fairly impressed by the youngster.
A number of young players impressed tonight for City, including the likes of Nico O’Reilly and James McAtee.
But arguably, no one shone brighter than Rico Lewis, who continued his excellent start to the new season.
Rico Lewis shines as Man City defeat Watford
As expected, City dominated the ball against Watford and the damage was done in the first-half.
Pep will be disappointed that City allowed the Hornets to get back into the contest late on, and also annoyed by his side failing to keep a clean sheet again.
But one man he will no doubt be very pleased with, and not for the first time this season, is Rico Lewis.
Lewis – who Pep hailed as ‘so intelligent’ leading into this game – was benched against Arsenal at the weekend, but was back starting tonight – and it was yet another top display from the 19-year-old.
As per Sofascore, the starlet had a whopping 107 touches in the game, which was bettered only by Kyle Walker (113).
Lewis used the ball very well, completing 74/82 (90%) passes. A very impressive six of these were ‘key’.
And of course, Lewis laid on the assist for Nunes’ goal after great interplay with James McAtee.
Lewis may never have been in better form
- READ MORE: Who is Rico Lewis? The Man City prodigy who is one of the best Pep Guardiola has ever trained
At the moment it just seems that every time Lewis takes to the field, he impresses for City.
Prior to this game, he had been excellent for City, and Pep has praised him several times already in interviews.
Against Watford, the £25,000-a-week gem was at the heart of everything, pushing into central positions from right-back.
He showed once again how good he is in the tight spaces, and it is hard to argue against him starting regularly in this team.
Kyle Walker has been an amazing player for City over the years, but it is getting increasingly difficult to make a case for him to start regularly over Lewis.
