Guardiola: De Bruyne is unstoppable when playing with this fire inside

 beat

3-2 in a thrilling match and now will play Southampton in the quarter-finals.

provided assists for Erling Haaland and Nathan Ake's goals. The Belgian star has provided 15 assists in just 20 matches in all competitions this season.

"Kevin, when he plays with this fire inside of him, he finds himself this fire... what a player,"

Pep Guardiola told Sky Sports.

"How many years is Kevin here? Seven, eight years? I think so. There's so many things. He's an absolute legend.

"Always I push him to find this fire. In important games, when he has this, he's unstoppable."

Guardiola also praised the 18-year-old right-back Rico Lewis who has graduated from Manchester City’s academy for his performance against Liverpool. Rico Lewis won two turnovers in the final third and also won five duels against the Reds.

"In a long, long time, I didn't see a performance like Rico Lewis,"

Guardiola said of a teenager who debuted in August.

"He's 18 years old, playing against Liverpool with big stars up front, and the way he played with the ball and without the ball...

"We are lucky, incredibly lucky to have this player for the next decade. Hopefully the club can keep him, because he was exceptional. The game he played was exceptional."

Manchester City who is five points behind leaders Arsenal will face Leeds United next Wednesday in the Premier League.

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