'Prove a point' - Rico Lewis offers Man City alternative for Pep Guardiola

Manchester City defender Rico Lewis spoke after a starring role in their Champions League win over Villarreal

Rico Lewis felt out of puff after 10 minutes in Villarreal but he could be ready to breathe new life in Manchester City's midfield.

Pep Guardiola is still working out his best combinations in the centre, having said goodbye to long-serving legends Kevin De Bruyne and Ilkay Gundogan in the summer and been unable to rely on Rodri's fitness. Nico Gonzalez is stepping up to cover for the Ballon d'Or winner and further forward Phil Foden and Tijjani Reijnders had been the preferred choice.

Both were benched for the trip to Villarreal though, with Lewis coming in as one of four changes to make his first start since Huddersfield away in the league cup. The 20-year-old played where he wants to, in central midfield behind Erling Haaland, and made an instant impact as he crossed for the striker to score the opening goal at the Estadio de la Ceramica.

Lewis paired up nicely with Savinho, John Stones and Matheus Nunes in the Champions League game with a confident performance that gives Guardiola food for thought as he assesses his options that also include Omar Marmoush and Rayan Cherki. Lewis felt like he needed to prove a point, and his way of interpreting the midfield role and running between the lines is certainly different.

"I was so tired. 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," he said. "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.

"[Running between the lines is] something I’ll have to look at myself. It’s very different when you’re in the game, you don’t see it all, but it’s something I can offer. It’s something I enjoy. I think it’s effective as well.

"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."

Guardiola purred over Lewis after the game and was happy with his side's victory, even if he saw room for improvement in the second half. City's problem has generally been seeing out games this season, with promising starts that have faded over the course of the 90 minutes.

The players will work on that, helped by the fact that more players are available, but Lewis was happy to lead from the start to play the kind of football that Guardiola loves: possession-heavy, passing-heavy, and taking the game to their opponents from the start.

"Most of the season it’s been like that, in my opinion. From looking from the outside in as well. Maybe some games we’ve struggled with it but I feel like Wolves was the same… it’s always there but it’s having the confidence to do it from minute one," he said.

"The manager says everyone can play amazing football when you’re three or four nil up but it’s about doing it from minute zero and that’s what we did at Villarreal.

"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."

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