Topics: UEFA Champions League, Man City, , Sporting CP
The Man City boss was impressed by the academy graduate following his cameo on Wednesday night.

Pep Guardiola has praised Man City academy graduate CJ Egan-Riley after his Champions League debut against Sporting. The young England defender excelled in defense in Wednesday night as his side sailed through to the quarter-final despite the night's stalemates.

Man City barely broke sweat and were hardly tested as they confirmed their place in the Champions League quarter-finals. Despite failing to score in the encounter at the Etihad, the first leg's 5-0 win in Portugal ensured safe passage for the Premier League outfit. Hours before kick-off, fans of the club were left a little surprised by the team announced by Pep Guardiola as a result of a surprise inclusion.

The Spanish manager had made six changes from the team that outplayed Manchester United on Sunday and handed a starting berth to City's promising academy product CJ Egan-Riley. In the absence of the suspended Kyle Walker, the young defender put in an impressive shift despite not having the likes of Joao Cancelo, Ruben Dias and Nathan Ake in the backline.

While the game failed to yield any noticeable outcome, Pep Guardiola could not hide his satisfaction with the young defender who was handed his debut in the competition. In a post-match interview with BT Sport (via BBC Sport), Guardiola said: "I am very pleased because in both games we deserved to be in the Champions League quarter-finals.

"Egan-Riley played really good and didn't miss one ball," Guardiola said. "He is a seven. He is nothing exceptional in anything but that is a good sign as a defender as he doesn't make mistakes."

Man City's third choice goalkeeper Scott Carson was also given some minutes to feature in the draw with Sporting. The veteran goalkeeper replaced Ederson at half-time and his appearance saw him land an unusual milestone in the Champions League in the process.