‘Pep didn’t go mad!’ Rico Lewis after Orient give Man City HUGE FA Cup scare | OneFootball

Rico Lewis has revealed Manchester City never doubted themselves despite League One side Leyton Orient giving Pep Guardiola’s side a huge FA Cup scare.

Tottenham loanee Jamie Donley produced a moment of magic to give Orient a sensational lead inside the first 20 minutes, seeing his effort from just inside the City half bounce in off goalkeeper Stefan Ortega.

City’s class eventually told as two second-half goals from substitutes Abdoukodir Khusanov and Kevin De Bruyne turned the match in their favour.

It was far from straightforward for the reigning Premier League champions, though and they looked on the ropes at half time.

20-year-old Lewis, however, played down the emotion and revealed Guardiola was extremely upbeat in his half-time assessment.

“He [Guardiola] wasn’t going mad or anything like that,” Lewis said.

“He knew we’d created chances and it’s about keeping going in an environment like this.

“Credit to Leyton Orient, they made it difficult for us to play. It’s easy to say it’s tougher than you think but we all know they’re tough. The crowd are right up for it.

“It’s Man City at the end of the day, the demands are so high. There’s enough leadership in this team. Going from attack to defence is difficult, there’s a lot of ground to cover. It’s all about trust.”

City’s attentions now turn to their two-legged Champions League playoff tie against Real Madrid and Lewis believes this season could still turn out to be special, despite the Cityzens struggles.

“The season hasn’t panned out how we wanted it to. Every game now, as long as we win, it could be a great season for us,” he added.

“Everyone does want us to get beat, apart from City fans of course. it’s pressure on our shoulders. Everyone settled their heads at half-time.

“It’s a huge game [against Real Madrid], the name itself tells you the story. It’s a game you see every year at the moment, whether that’s in the quarter-finals or the semi-finals.”