The midfielder was an unused substitute as Manchester City beat Leeds United 3-2.
Pep Guardiola jokingly claimed Kalvin Phillips has the ‘perfect body’ after he returned to the Manchester City squad for Wednesday’s Premier League win over Leeds United.
The City manager said last week that Phillips was not fit enough to train having returned ‘overweight’ from England’s World Cup campaign. For that reason he was omitted from the City squad for the Carabao Cup game against Liverpool, but he was named on the substitutes’ bench for his much-anticipated return to Elland Road.
The Leeds fans amusingly chanted that their former midfielder was ‘too fat’ to play for the Yorkshire side as he warmed up on the touchline during the second half, with Phillips enjoying a chuckle with the supporters.
Speaking after the game, Guardiola also made light of the situation, saying the 27-year-old had a ‘sexy’ body, before providing more clarity on his comments last week.
“He has the perfect body. So sexy,” the Catalan quipped. “We will see [if he’ll be fit for the weekend]. Kalvin had been in the first part of the season out, had surgery to arrive to the World Cup.
“He did everything to get to the World Cup. It’s not just about being fit. He has to understand what we want to do, the movements and many things, as quick as possible. Rodri cannot play all the games.
“I am happy that yesterday he trained really well and we are so happy for that and I am pretty sure sooner or later he will start to come in.”
Guardiola also revealed after the game that Julian Alvarez will return to the City squad ‘after New Year’s Eve’, and will therefore not be available for Saturday’s clash with Everton. The attacker was granted extra time away from the club following Argentina’s success at the World Cup in Qatar.
Rico Lewis impressed again for Manchester City, this time on his first Premier League start at Leeds on Wednesday night.
Pep Guardiola credits Rico Lewis for making Man City tick vs Leeds
Pep Guardiola was full of praise for Rico Lewis after he put in another influential performance for Manchester City.
After Guardiola said Lewis was worthy of Man of the Match against Liverpool in the Carabao Cup last week, the 18-year-old was rewarded with his first Premier League start at Leeds on Wednesday night. Explaining that decision before the game, Guardiola said it would be ‘impossible’ to play better than Lewis did against Liverpool, and he fully deserved to keep his place.
With Joao Cancelo and Kyle Walker on the bench, this was Lewis’ biggest start to date, and he passed his latest City test with flying colours at a feisty Elland Road.
Drifting between right-back and defensive midfield, Lewis barely put a foot wrong and linked well with Kevin De Bruyne and Rodri on the right-hand side. Had Jack Grealish found the target from six yards in the first half, Lewis would also have registered an assist.
He was replaced in the second half after his back-to-back starts, but Guardiola made sure to praise Lewis after the game as the manager waxed lyrical over Lewis’ understanding of City’s system and importance to their match-winning performance.
“All the process we can do is thanks to Rico and Rodri,” Guardiola told Amazon Prime.
“Without him, what we could do would be more difficult. It’s not easy to play that position. Defensively, he understands the game so clever, that’s why he helps us to do our dynamics much better.
“Otherwise the players in the middle have to be good. Again, against Chelsea and Liverpool in the Carabao Cup, and today in Elland Road, wow. He played really, really well.”
SOURCE: manchesterworld.uk
