CJ Egan-Riley, Finley Burns, Luke Mbete, Joshua Wilson-Esbrand, Romeo Lavia and James McAtee all made their senior bow as City won 6-1 on a memorable night for our Academy.
Dickov felt the youngsters gave an excellent account of themselves and believes Pep Guardiola’s decision to field so many debutants proves that there is a pathway in place for players to progress to the first team.
“It was a fantastic performance,” he said on the latest edition of Matchday Live.
“Seven teenagers on the pitch shows you the progression of the Academy we’ve got here and how the players are getting brought through. Some of the football they played was fantastic.
“The hardest thing to do when you are a young player coming through is getting the acceptance of the senior lads.
“When you join the first team, if they don’t trust you, they will look at you and they won’t give you the ball, they will go somewhere else.
“The senior lads really trust the young kids because they know they are good enough and that gives them the confidence to play as they did tonight.”
There was no shortage of impressive performances from City’s Academy graduates.
Whether it was Phil Foden’s Man of the Match display, Cole Palmer netting a fine sole strike for his first senior goal, or Finley Burns and Luke Mbete marshalling the imposing presence of a striker twice their age in Adebayo Akinfenwa, the youngsters proved Guardiola’s faith was justified.
At left-back, the marauding runs of Wilson-Esbrand also stood out and for Dickov, the 18-year-old full-back was someone who really caught the eye.
“For me, Wilson-Esbrand was the one,” he added. “He looked really comfortable in the company he was in.
“Left-back is a position where there might be an easier pathway to go in at the minute. He looks as if he is ready.
“He is quick, strong, he can tackle. We saw with the assist for the Riyad Mahrez goal that his awareness is there.
“He looks to have the full package to be a full-back, especially the way City play.”
