Three academy graduates show Man City what their future midfield could look like vs Brentford

City's midfield of the future

Just like against Chelsea last week, Pep Guardiola named a second-string Manchester City midfield, with injury problems meaning there were a few square pegs in round holes. While Phil Foden impressed from the centre against Chelsea, he was given a chance to impress on the left and Cole Palmer was the attacking midfielder at Brentford.

With Rico Lewis seamlessly slotting into midfield again and Kalvin Phillips getting better and better, this was a very English midfield. Foden has long been touted as a future central midfielder, while Lewis has shown in his debut season that he clearly has the tactical and technical ability to play centrally for Guardiola.

With Palmer reminding fans and coaches of his obvious quality in the last three games - after a frustrating season - this line-up felt like one of the most relatable in some time for the fans at the Gtech Stadium with three academy products. Could Foden, Lewis and Palmer be linking up midfield for years to come in the future?

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Lewis caps a fine season

What a year for Rico Lewis. 10 months ago he was a youngster getting a chance on the pre-season tour, and now he's a Premier League champion having played a pivotal role for Pep Guardiola's side. City wouldn't have won the title without Lewis, after all, according to Guardiola.

Here, for the second time in a week, Lewis was an out-and-out midfielder and continued to showcase his tactical excellence as he played an impressive box-to-box role. Popping up in attacks, Lewis showed he can play number eight (even number ten) as well as number six or on both sides of defence.

Some eyebrows were raised when Guardiola credited