The 17-year-old right-back coolly scored the equalizer after Rafa Mir had given Sevilla a shock first-half lead. City had to call on Kevin De Bruyne from the bench to find a winner and he did within three minutes, setting up Julian Alvarez with a stunning assist – his 12th of the season. Alvarez then grabbed his second assist of the night when he set up Riyad Mahrez to make the game safe as City finished top of Group G. Pep Guardiola said of Lewis: “We see him every day, we don’t give gifts here. Not only because he’s a Manchester City fan and from the academy, he has to win it. But we’ve had from day one that this guy has something special. He’s quite aggressive defensively but has a lot of room for improvement and on the ball when he plays inside he’s so good. And outside he showed today with his crossing and finishing.” Use Chrome browser for more accessible video player Pep Guardiola suggests some youngsters are not patient enough at big clubs The last 16 draw, for which Manchester City will qualify, will take place at 12pm. on Monday 7 November. He will face one of Club Brugge, Inter, Frankfurt, AC Milan, RB Leipzig or PSG.
Player Ratings
Man City: Ortega (7), Laporte (7), Lewis (8), Dias (7), Sergio Gomez (7), Gundogan (7), Palmer (6), Foden (7), Mahrez (7), Alvarez (8) , Grealish (7) The minors used: Rodri (7), De Bruyne (8), Silva (7), Wilson-Esbrand (7), Cancelo (N/A) Seville: Bono (6), Montiel (6), Carmona (6), Marcoo (6), Rekic (6), Atsuna (6), Gomez (7), Rakitic (6), Delaney (6), Isco (6), look (8) The minors used: Telles (6), Gudelli (6), Suso (6), Jordan (6), Lamela (6) Man of the Match: Rico Lewis
Rico Lewis, remember the name…
Guardiola resisted the urge to bring back Erling Haaland after the goalscoring machine suffered from a virus and leg injury – he is likely to be fit for Saturday’s clash with Fulham.
Team news
Pep Guardiola made seven changes in total from the win at Leicester. Only Aymeric Laporte, Ilkay Gundogan, Julian Alvarez and Jack Grealish kept their places. Rico Lewis, 17, made his first start for the club, while the exciting Cole Palmer was also given a chance. It was an attacking side selected by Guardiola with Palmer, Phil Foden, Riyad Mahrez, Jack Grealish and Julian Alvarez all selected.
City’s last two Champions League games both ended 0-0 and he failed to score in a miserable first-half display. Sevilla, meanwhile, posed the biggest attacking threat and Mir had already had two looks on goal before opening the scoring in the 31st minute. It was very poor defending from City as Mir stayed three yards from an Isco corner to head into the far corner. City had nine shots before the break, but only one of them hit the target. Guardiola changed his tactics at half-time, removing Jack Grealish and adding another central midfielder to the game in Rodry. Guardiola revealed Grealish was “the best player” in the first half but withdrew him for a combination of tactics and fatigue. This allowed City’s two full-backs to play more as wings than inverted midfielders and it was Lewis – born in 2004 – who grabbed the equaliser. A successful high press left Sevilla outnumbered and Alvarez sent a perfectly weighted ball to Lewis, who kept his composure impressively for someone so young and scored with a fine finish.
It’s Rico’s time!
At 17 years and 346 days, Lewis becomes the youngest player in Champions League history to score on his first start in the competition, breaking the record previously held by Karim Benzema (17 years 352 days for Lyon vs Rosenborg). Despite the equaliser, City struggled to find space against Sevilla’s low block and Guardiola called for De Bruyne from the bench. Alvarez made some fine runs in behind Sevilla’s centre-backs all night but nobody had the vision to find him until De Bruyne took the ball in the middle and curled a stunning ball back which he latched on to. From there the striker turned the goalkeeper and fired his shot into the roof of the net. Image: Manchester City’s Julian Alvarez celebrates after scoring against Sevilla Mahrez looked like he was feeling sorry for himself at times after a rusty start to the season, but his spirits lifted with eight minutes remaining, producing a superb finish after being found by Alvarez’s unselfish pass.
Pep: The change in tactics made it a good night for us
Guardiola said: “In the first half we were there but we struggled to attack as we played right foot to left and left foot to right so you get inside and it becomes difficult against a back five. In the second half with Sergio Gomez on the left and Rico Lewis on the right we felt we had more presence in the final third. It’s good as of course we qualified but we finished well and the money for the club is important. It was a good night for us, especially in the second half.” Guardiola on the production line coming from the academy: “The academy works amazingly because Jadon Sancho, Brahim Diaz, Phil Foden, James McAtee, Cole Palmer, there’s a lot of talent. The kids who want to stay here and fight for the place them. they have a chance. If they are not patient and listen to the agents more then they can leave, no problem. You saw the reaction from the crowd that people are so happy to have players from the academy playing for us. They can help us as they have quality”.
Opta Stats: Alvarez makes his mark
Aged 22 years and 275 days, Alvarez became the youngest Argentine to be directly involved in three goals in a Champions League game since Lionel Messi against Bayern Munich in April 2009, also under Pep Guardiola (21 years 288 days). Rafa Mir scored for the first time in England in what was his 19th club appearance for the country, having previously failed to score against Wolves, Nottingham Forest and Sevilla (vs West Ham). Lewis became the fifth Englishman to start a UEFA Champions League match before turning 18, following Jack Wilshere, Josh McEachran, Phil Foden and Jude Bellingham.
What’s next?
Wednesday 9 November 19:00 Start 20:00
Manchester City have three more games before the World Cup break. They host Fulham in the Premier League on Saturday. start 3pm They then face Chelsea in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday 9 November, live on Sky Sports. starting time 8 p.m. Their final game before the World Cup is on Saturday 12 November when they host Brentford in the Premier League. start 12.30 pm Sevilla have two more La Liga matches against Real Betis and Real Sociedad before their Copa del Rey clash with Velarde on Sunday 13 November.
