Manchester City made an impressive start to the 2024-25 campaign by winning the FA Community Shield against Manchester United. Pep Guardiola’s team have been one of the most dominating teams in England. They won four back-to-back English Premier League titles and are looking for a fifth one. Manchester City started their title defence in style by winning the first three games of the season.
Erling Haaland is enjoying a great start to the campaign. He scored back-to-back hat-tricks for the team. But it is not Haaland who is getting all the praise. Another youngster has stepped up in the absence of two key players. He is Rico Lewis. Manchester City are without Kyle Walker and Rodri. The Spanish manager has made some tactical changes by introducing Rico Lewis into the playing 11. He is helping out the mastermind to play his style of football.
Rico Lewis has been a key player for Pep. He is only 19 and has adjusted well to Pep’s tactics. How is the youngster helping out his team during these tough times? Let’s have a look at how Guardiola is using his young versatile player.
Sitting in front of the defence
Manchester City have made some changes to their formation. They play with a back three and two players sit in front of the defence. Pep Guardiola has used this formation in the last 2-3 seasons. He has some versatile players in the team. Rico Lewis is one of them. He can play as a full-back and as a defensive midfielder. The above touch map shows the areas covered by the youngster in the opening matches. He is covering for a defensive midfielder as well as for a full-back. Most of his touches came in the middle third.
This is the defensive area covered by Lewis in the absence of two players. His defensive territory starts in the final third and ends in front of his goal. The youngster mostly stays on the right side, allowing Josko Gvardiol to join the attack from the opposite flank. Rico Lewis is very disciplined and has committed only a single foul. He has made nine interceptions to break the opposition’s play. This shows how Lewis has been the key to stabilizing the team.
From defence to attack
The English champions like to dominate possession. They keep on attacking the opposition team until the final whistle blows. Lewis has been the key to carrying the attack down the right side. Most of his passes find a teammate on the flank. He looks for the wingers and opens the play for the team. Lewis has an assist to his name.
Most of the box penetration is through passes delivered to a teammate inside the box from the right side. Doku plays on the right side of the field. Rico Lewis makes him run behind the defence. The wide player can often get into a good crossing position to create a goal.
Rico Lewis will play a key role for Pep Guardiola. He is a mature player at a young age. The Spanish manager will look to get the best out of Lewis and win more trophies this season.
Visuals via TFA data viz engine
