82 | Rico Lewis - 2023/24

[Barcon]

Cracking player and had a great game. All his teammates have total trust in him and are not afraid to give him the ball.

 

[The Fat el Hombre]

Astounded no commentator or pundit came out with the "its part of his football education" cliche for their goal! He amde the wrong call but it was centimeters. Another solid game otherwise and the pass he played in for Haaland at the end was an early sign of him having the quality to potentially make the difference for us going forward in the future

 

[TrentGrisham]

Astounded no commentator or pundit came out with the "its part of his football education" cliche for their goal! He amde the wrong call but it was centimeters. Another solid game otherwise and the pass he played in for Haaland at the end was an early sign of him having the quality to potentially make the difference for us going forward in the future

Glad to see someone mention that pass to Haaland. If he meant to leave their entire defense for dead with that then it would make KDB proud. Shame Haaland didn't hit it first time.

 

[ninjamonkey]

Astounded no commentator or pundit came out with the "its part of his football education" cliche for their goal! He amde the wrong call but it was centimeters. Another solid game otherwise and the pass he played in for Haaland at the end was an early sign of him having the quality to potentially make the difference for us going forward in the future

I'm not convinced he meant to play that pass round the outside like he did, I think it was a bit of a balls up that went unexpectedly well. If I'm doing him a disservice and that was his intention it was phenomenal. The build up alone before the pass was impressive enough

 

[Project]

Still not really convinced with what he is that he gives us, or what he excels at.

Obviously age is well on his side, but just not sure he's a right back, or will ever be good enough to play centrally for us regularly.

Hope I'm wrong!

Really? Thought he was absolutely superb last night. He is such a gifted player. I think he’s most like Gundogan in style. Can’t really defend like him either but as a pivot or 8 he’s technically so good.

 

[jimmygrimblesboots]

Sky's the limit for this lad the biggest compliment you can give him is when he repalces Wallker the overall quality of the team does not suffer, he is still learning he was naive trying to play offside for the Young Boys goal we conceded but he will learn with time and gaining experience under Pep ,has to have an outside chance for the Euro's next season for England

 

[Crooked_rain]

Still not really convinced with what he is that he gives us, or what he excels at.

Obviously age is well on his side, but just not sure he's a right back, or will ever be good enough to play centrally for us regularly.

Hope I'm wrong!

He's 18 though

Do you think Kyle Walker at 18 would've been starting at right back in a champions league game? - now I'm not saying he will be as good a right back as Walker, but to be trusted by Pep to play that role at 18 is a good indicator that he could become a very good right back, if that's the direction his career takes.

I think the biggest challenge for Lewis is when he has to play under another manager because they might not have a complex a system as Pep where he has right backs coming in as a midfielder depending on the possession, and in future he might be made to have a more rigid role in terms of position and then it's going to come down to whether he's able to excel in a very specific position. Not that I like to bring Liverpool players into the chat but that's kind of the dilemma with Trent Alexander Arnold at the moment but he has shown to be a constant liability as a defender, so they've been left with little choice but to adapt his role when they can.

Lewis even at 18 isn't as much as a liability defensively. I think the future is good for him and he will find his most natural position. He did his GCSE's a couple of years ago and already fitting in with with a Pep team. I think that's a good indicator that he has some serious potential.

 

[Dirty Harry]

Thought a couple of times he struggled to get the bouncing/bobbly ball under total control last night with the harder surface like he normally does, which surprised me him being so technically gifted, he usually has a lovely flow and rhythm to his game.

I possibly hold him to a higher standard to many others though as I rate him so highly, he still had a very good game and all part of his learning curve, love the lad.

 

[SamBlue]

Still not really convinced with what he is that he gives us, or what he excels at.

Obviously age is well on his side, but just not sure he's a right back, or will ever be good enough to play centrally for us regularly.

Hope I'm wrong!

Ability to play embedded in between opposition lines, with skill and courage to receive a ball and either act as a pivot to pass it on to another City player, or turn and carry it until available pass. Rare commodity in 2020s where tactics became everything and space to do something with a ball shrank to less than square meter.
The teams are training and preparing for the whole week just to counter our game. That might be the reason why Brahim, who played like old school 8 or even 10, or even Palmer who are more skillful players than Rico failed. It all comes to that split second when you receive the ball and what you do with it.
If you want flair, jeopardy and some odd step-over, go and play for rags.

 

[Mike N]

Another very credible performance in difficult conditions last night.