RICO LEWIS POISED TO IMPRESS IN MANCHESTER CITY MIDFIELD STARTING OPPORTUNITY

Rico Lewis seized his chance in midfield for Man City, assisting Erling Haaland in a 2-0 UCL win over Villarreal. The 20-year-old relished playing his preferred role and impressing Pep Guardiola.

Rico Lewis Poised To Impress In Manchester City Midfield Starting Opportunity
Rico Lewis excelled as Manchester City beat Villarreal in the Champions League - Photo Credit: Getty Images

Rico Lewis is committed to taking advantage of every chance to make an impression in the midfield for Manchester City.

With a solid performance in City's 2-0 Champions League victory over Villarreal on Tuesday, the England international accomplished just that.

The 20-year-old has mostly played right back, but at the Estadio de la Ceramica, boss Pep Guardiola gave him a go in his favoured centre position.

In his only fourth start of the season, he reacted with a strong showing and interacted well with teammates, most notably by setting up Erling Haaland's opening goal.

The City academy graduate stated, "There is nothing better than playing, and I am certainly thrilled to be playing in midfield as well." "Most significantly, we received three points, so I have no concerns.

"Obviously, entering is challenging, but my excitement overcame that challenge." I was aware that I had to make a point.

"I have always wanted to play in midfield and talk about it all the time, so I needed to show myself." I want to seize the chance when it presents itself.

"I think I found the spaces and got an assist, so I can not really ask for more, but it was a tough game—they are a fantastic team."

Lewis claimed it was far from an easy task, even though he appeared at ease as he adapted to his job alongside Nico Gonzalez and captain Bernardo Silva.

"I was so exhausted that it did not feel like that," he remarked. The fundamentals would always be there, but after ten minutes, I was beginning to doubt my ability to make it to halftime.

"The squad is so fantastic that you fit in, but you can not play for five straight games." We practise it a lot in training; you are familiar with the spaces.

"Everyone knows where everyone is going to be, whether you are playing or not. We already have that kind of structure, which is encouraging in the early stages and will only become better.

After 16 minutes, Haaland swept in Lewis' cutback to give City the lead. It was the prolific Norwegian's fifteenth goal of the season and an incredible twenty-fourth in just fourteen club and national team appearances.

In addition, it was his 53rd goal in the Champions League and his 12th goal in a row, putting him 10th on the list of the league's highest scorers.

Before halftime, Silva extended the lead with a strong header, and victory was certain. However, if Villarreal had taken advantage of one of the few second-half opportunities, the evening might have become uncomfortable.

"The performance, with a result like that, helps more than you think," Lewis stated.

"Even though the performance was not great, you can still be satisfied after winning 1-0 and being a little rough. However, it is incredible to have a clean sheet and two goals in a performance like that.

PEP GUARDIOLA REFUSES TO GUARANTEE RODRI’S RETURN FOR MONDAY’S PREMIER LEAGUE CLASH

Pep Guardiola provides the latest injury news on Rodri, Ruben Dias, and Josko Gvardiol ahead of a crucial title race clash at Everton.

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Rodri still absent from City training ahead of vital Everton trip - Photo Credit: Getty Images

Pep Guardiola has shared the latest on Manchester City's injury situation ahead of Monday’s Premier League match against Everton at the Hill Dickinson Stadium.

City is in good form right now. They came from behind to beat Southampton 2-1 in the FA Cup semi-final last weekend, making it six wins in a row across all competitions.

But they’ve had to do it without Rodri. He's missed their last two matches, including a tight 1-0 win at Burnley, after hurting his groin against Arsenal a couple of weeks back. Guardiola recently told reporters that Rodri is getting better, but the team’s been cautious and isn’t rushing him back.

At his latest press conference on Friday, Guardiola said Rodri still hasn’t returned to training, so they’re just taking it day by day. There's hope, but Guardiola wouldn’t give any guarantees about Rodri’s chances of playing against Everton. "He’s getting better. Still, he didn't train with us, so we’ll see in the next few days,” he said. When pressed about his confidence, Pep just replied, “I am always confident.”

With Rodri still not training, it sounds like a last-minute decision on whether he’ll play. A start against Everton seems unlikely. That probably means Nico González, who scored the winner against Southampton, will keep his spot in midfield next to Bernardo Silva. Maybe Nico O’Reilly slides into central midfield, too, if he isn’t covering at left-back.

It’s not all good news in defence either. Ruben Dias is still out with the ankle injury that’s kept him sidelined for the last six games, and Josko Gvardiol is recovering from the tibial fracture he picked up in January. Both are working their way back, and Guardiola says they’re improving, but there’s no sign of a return just yet.

Turning to the Everton game, City could head into it trailing Arsenal by six points if the Gunners beat Fulham on Saturday. With the title race this tight, City can’t afford to slip up.

Guardiola knows Monday will be tough. “Everton have always been tough,” he said. “Old Everton was so cool and so British, and I loved to go there, but in the new stadium, they are defending really well, and it has always been tough." He’s not taking recent Everton results lightly, adding, 'They're fighting for a place in Europe. We won with two or three actions here, but we were not good at that moment. We can’t have any result but win, win, win.”

Everton won’t be easy, especially away, but City can at least take confidence from their strong record of 17 league games unbeaten against the Toffees. They won the reverse fixture 2-0, with Haaland scoring both goals. Still, Guardiola isn’t expecting it to be straightforward.

MANCHESTER CITY’S REQUEST TO RESCHEDULE PIVOTAL PREMIER LEAGUE TIES BRUTALLY DENIED

The Premier League has rejected Man City’s plea to swap Palace and Bournemouth matches. See City's brutal end-of-season schedule.

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Pep Guardiola’s domestic treble hunt faces a major hurdle after league fixture refusal - Photo Credit: AFP via Getty Images

Manchester City are on the hunt for another domestic treble just seven years after the last one. Pep Guardiola pulled it off in 2018/19 with wins in the Premier League, FA Cup, and Carabao Cup. Now he's got his sights set on doing it again.

City’s deep run in the cups has created a mess for their league schedule. Their home game against Crystal Palace, which was supposed to happen during the Carabao Cup final weekend on March 22, got bumped. Same thing with their trip to Bournemouth, originally set for the day after the FA Cup final.

There’s a hold-up with rescheduling Palace; the Eagles’ Conference League semi-final run means they’ve got barely any free midweek dates. The match was pencilled in for Wednesday, May 13, but things got complicated when City reached the FA Cup Final, and Bournemouth got postponed too. The city asked the Premier League if they could play Bournemouth on Tuesday, May 12, then face Palace a week later, to squeeze in an extra recovery day before the Wembley showdown. Plus, that would give them the bonus of finishing their last two league games at home. But the Premier League usually insists that the fixture that was originally scheduled first in this case, Palace, gets played first.

According to The Mirror, City’s request was shot down. So now Guardiola’s team has to cram their last four matches into just 12 days: Palace visits on May 13, then the FA Cup Final, Bournemouth away on May 19, and finally wrapping things up at home to Aston Villa on May 24.

They couldn't play Bournemouth on May 20 because that’s the Europa League final night, and UEFA didn’t want any Premier League games stealing the spotlight when Aston Villa or Nottingham Forest could be involved.

The Mirror says the revised fixture dates and kick-off times are coming out today. Chelsea, also FA Cup finalists, will play their rescheduled match against Tottenham on May 19.

City still has to travel to Everton next Monday and host Brentford on Saturday, May 9. Then comes their jam-packed finish, starting with Palace.

Meanwhile, title rivals Arsenal will be hoping City’s crowded schedule works in their favour. Though Arsenal has its own challenge, a Champions League semi-final against Atletico Madrid is spread across the next two midweeks.

Arsenal closes out its league campaign with home games against Fulham and Burnley and trips to West Ham and Palace.

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