Pep Guardiola hailed Rico Lewis as one of the best players he has ever coached after his starring role in Manchester City’s hard-fought win at RB Leipzig. The 18-year-old produced a commanding display as the holders maintained the winning start to their Champions League defence with a 3-1 success at the Red Bull Arena on Wednesday. Lewis, who made his first-team breakthrough as a right-back last season, had a hand in Phil Foden’s opening goal and proved City’s main driving force throughout. City manager Guardiola, the former Barcelona boss whose past players have included Lionel Messi, said: “What a player! What a player! “I’ve been a manager for 14, 15, years and lucky to train one of the best players in the world in Barcelona. “To find a player like him playing in the pockets, how he has to move as a holding midfielder, moving in the spaces, he is one of the best I’ve ever trained by far. “He’s a humble guy, doesn’t talk much. He didn’t play much this season but he is going to play a lot.” Despite Lewis’ contributions, it took the introduction of substitutes Julian Alvarez and Jeremy Doku to secure a hard-fought victory. City controlled the first half and led at the break through Foden’s 25th-minute strike but they were pegged back after the restart by Lois Openda. The second half was a frustrating affair with Erling Haaland missing several chances and Foden hitting the bar but Alvarez made the breakthrough with a stunning effort on 84 minutes. Doku wrapped up a second successive win in Group G in injury time. After back-to-back defeats domestically, Guardiola was pleased to get back to winning ways. He said: “Three or four days ago it was no progress because we lost in Wolves. It was important to break that. “We played a fantastic game in all departments. We conceded two or three transitions in the second half but it’s normal. When a team is able to make a lot of passes early on, very nice things are going to happen in the game. “The guys who came from the bench, the contribution they have done is the key point. Everyone helped each other. I am really satisfied. It was a tough game.” Leipzig coach Marco Rose was pleased with the effort of his side but had no complaints about the result. Rose said: “Manchester City deserved to win, even if it was 1-1 in the 83rd minute and we had hoped to hold on until the end. “We did well after the break and got our equaliser. It was then an open game then but City put us under pressure at the death again. We are learning from the best.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Newcastle stun PSG as Manchester City, Lazio, Barcelona and Atletico all win Simone Biles wins 20th World Gymnastics gold by leading USA to team title Bill Sweeney believes English rugby is ‘on cusp of something quite spectacular’

Over the years, Kremlin political critics, turncoat spies and journalists have been killed in a variety of ways

HOUSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sep 14, 2023--

By Olena Harmash and Oleksandr Kozhukhar KYIV (Reuters) -Ukraine's special forces said on Monday they had killed Moscow's top admiral

England Under-21s are in Saturday’s Euro 2023 final against Spain as they look to win the tournament for the first time in 39 years. The Young Lions beat Israel in Wednesday’s semi-final to reach their first final since 2009. Here the PA news agency looks at some of the focal points ahead of the final. History makers It has been 39 years since the Under-21s last won the European Championship. Then, it was back-to-back victories in 1982 and 1984 but the drought has not ended since. A 4-0 final thumping by Germany in 2009 is the closest they have got. Lee Carsley’s side can make history in Batumi on Saturday. Unbeatable England England go into the final having scored 10 and conceded none. They have not been troubled at the back with James Trafford, close to a £15million switch to Burnley from Manchester City, unbeaten. The final is a different matter and Spain will provide a sterner test on Saturday. They have scored 50 goals across qualifying and the tournament after thumping Ukraine 5-1 in their semi-final, but there will be a confidence and belief among the squad they can remain unbroken. A long season For most, including semi-final scorers Morgan Gibbs-White and Cole Palmer, their season started over 330 days ago. The new Premier League campaign is just five weeks away and while the squad did manage to get a break before linking up they will be tired, both mentally and physically. It all adds to the debate about player welfare and how much football players can manage. A balanced squad For a long time now the squad has seemed more than the sum of its parts. Previous Under-21 campaigns have ended with disappointment with teams containing Phil Foden, James Maddison, Jordan Pickford, Tammy Abraham and Harry Kane. This class have gelled and, while they are all talented players, they have arguably gone under the radar compared to their predecessors. Spain’s dangerman England will have to stop Braga’s Abel Ruiz, who will be out for revenge having lost the Under-17 World Cup final to the Young Lions in 2017. The striker has three goals and two assists for Spain in the tournament and scored the Euros’ fastest-ever strike when he netted after 20 seconds against Croatia. The 23-year-old also has two senior caps and came through the ranks at Barcelona before a 2020 move to Braga. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Fiery Mark Wood and Stuart Broad give England flying start to must-win Test Jan Choinski’s Wimbledon run ended by former doubles partner Hubert Hurkacz Mark Wood delivers one of the fastest Test spells recorded in England

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