Pep Guardiola hailed Manchester City teenager Rico Lewis as a “dream come true” after the 17-year-old marked his full debut with a goal.
At 17 years and 346 days, Lewis became the youngest player in Champions League history to score on his full debut in the competition, breaking a record set by current Ballon d'Or holder Karim Benzema.
Delighted Guardiola said: “He got a standing ovation and I'm really happy for him. He's a fantastic player, so intelligent. We don’t give presents here, not because he's a City fan or from the academy - he's had to earn it.
“We’ve seen it since the day he played a few minutes against Bayern Munich in pre-season. All the good players felt he had something special.
“The guys who want to stay and fight will have a chance. If they're not patient and listen to agents, they can leave.
“But you saw the reaction from the crowd, how they feel about having people from the academy playing for us.
“Sometimes you think we’ll have to buy full-backs, but when we can give someone from the academy a chance, it's a dream come true.”
Julian Alvarez scored one and set up City's other two goals as Guardiola's fringe players seized their chance to shine.
City, already confirmed as Group G winners, can be paired with Bruges, Inter Milan, AC Milan, RB Leipzig, Eintracht Frankfurt or Paris St Germain in Monday's last 16 draw.
