Lewis hails Haaland after 53rd Champions League strike | OneFootball

Rico Lewis has labelled Erling Haaland as 'amazing' after the striker netted for the 12th match in succession for club and country in our 2-0 Champions League victory over Villarreal.

Our No.9 latched onto Lewis' cross to drive us ahead in Spain after 17 minutes, netting his 15th goal in 11 matches for City across all competitions this season.

The goal also takes him into ninth position in the goalscoring charts of the prestigious competition, averaging more than goal a game with 53 in 51 career appearances.

Captain Bernardo Silva headed in our second shortly before the interval to put us in a commanding position, as we extended our unbeaten run to nine matches, made it three clean sheets in a row and secured our first away win in the competition since October last year.

When quizzed about Haaland's remarkable goalscoring exploits after the game, Lewis said: "It’s amazing. To play with him in the team helps more than you think.

"He draws so many defenders which frees up other people. And then when them people are free it frees himself up. It’s impossible to defend.

"Credit to him. He’s such a hard worker. He never wants to stop scoring and you can see that.

"We felt in control for most of it. There’s always better things we can do.They had a few spells where we could have stopped them from having if we were a bit better on the ball at times.

"We’ve got to be harsh on ourselves, we want to win the competition. We look at the good things and the bad things. We’re happy with a clean sheet and a win.

"I think we’ve got our confidence back, that’s the main thing. When you play with confidence, there’s nothing that can stop you but yourself.  Everyone trusts each other. There’s nothing better than all of us having each other on the pitch.

GALLERY: VICTORY IN VILLARREAL!

"The manager was saying it’s so important in this competition to get that away win early on. It relieves a bit of stress and puts us in good stead for the next games. It’s an important win, home or away we have to get the three points anyway."

Pep Guardiola deployed Lewis in a more advanced midfield position at Estadio de la Ceramica and the Englishman proved his credentials, grabbing an assist and having 31 touches of the ball in a lively display.

"I’m always happy when I play there," revealed Lewis. The manager knows that.

"It’s where I affect the game the most. When I’m playing football and I’m happy there’s no better feeling."