One Manchester City youngster reminded everyone of his quality against Nottingham Forest | OneFootball

Manchester City booked their place in this season’s FA Cup final with a 2-nil win over Nottingham Forest at Wembley. City’s win was underpinned by some fine individual performances. Mateo Kovacic and Bernardo Silva were superb in midfield. Outside of one error, Josko Gvardiol scored a goal and put in a crucial performance at the back. But one City youngster reminded everyone of his quality at Wembley today. That was Rico Lewis. Playing in midfield he was superb and played a key role in City’s win.

When the starting lineups were announced for today’s match, Rico Lewis was selected in midfield. It was a big stage for Lewis to step into midfield alongside Bernardo Silva and Mateo Kovacic. Jack Grealish also played in midfield as he drifted all over the pitch. But for Lewis, today’s match was the biggest test for him in midfield on a big occasion.

He passed that test with flying colours. Lewis opened the scoring in the second minute when he gave Manchester City the lead with a quality strike. Mateo Kovacic set up the goal with his driving run from midfield but it was Lewis’ quality first touch and finish that gave City the lead. That was the first snippet of what Lewis can do when playing in midfield.

Rico Lewis showed that his game is ideal for a midfield role.

Another stand-out quality feature of Lewis’s performance was his attacking runs from midfield. They stood out, especially in the first half. He timed them to perfection and they did help unsettle the Nottingham Forest defence in the game’s opening 25 minutes. On another day they could have led to more goals from Pep Guardiola’s side. But what those runs, and Lewis’s ability to play in the pockets showed was just how good a player he can be. At times, that is forgotten, given Lewis traditionally plays at right-back. But when he plays in midfield, all of those attributes become a much more dangerous weapon for Manchester City.

Pep Guardiola had special praise for the performance of Rico Lewis at Wembley.

Speaking after his team clinched a third consecutive FA Cup final appearance, Pep Guardiola had special praise for Rico Lewis. He explained that the City academy graduate is best suited to a role in midfield. Guardiola explained: “Rico helps us a lot as a full-back, coming inside but I think his perfect position is in the pocket.”

“He moves really well in small spaces like Phil [Foden]. You have to be aggressive in the next action. Rico, since he landed with us, he’s been really good.”

“When we play really good and drop the opponents in the final third, we need players that can move in those small spaces.”

“Rico’s one of the best at that I have ever seen. He showed his fantastic quality with the goal.”

The praise from Pep Guardiola speaks volumes about Rico Lewis’ performance at Wembley today. It was the highest praise from the best manager of the modern era. But what Lewis’ performance was is a reminder of the quality he has. Both technically and tactically. At times that is forgotten. But today he showed exactly how good he can be and why his future lies as a midfielder. The fact he performed so well on the big stage at Wembley showed why Rico Lewis is so highly regarded at Manchester City.