Ben Wilkinson hailed the impact of 16-year-old Floyd Samba in City’s 2-0 UEFA Youth League win over Napoli.
The youngster grabbed the Blues’ opener on his Youth League debut, turning cleverly away from two defenders before rifling an unstoppable drive into the top corner.
City then rounded off a deserved win in our first Youth League clash of the season when Reigan Heskey fired home from the penalty spot after being brought down deep into stoppage time.
Wilkinson was quick to praise his squad’s patience and maturity at the Joie Stadium, but picked out Samba for particular praise after his stunning solo effort.
MATCH REPORT: CITY 2-0 NAPOLI
“[I’m] really pleased. The kid’s a top talent and has top physicality, and he’s capable of moments like that,” our Head Coach said of Samba’s display.
“We’re very fortunate to have him and to have him as such a young player who’ll hopefully play in this competition for many years and go on and have a successful career.
“To produce like that at such a pivotal part of the game was a big moment for him.
“Our maturity was good for quite a young group in terms of how we kept the ball, limited transitions and kept the ball out. It was a pleasing day.”
Hear Ben’s thoughts in full via the video above…