Roberts shows Pep his worth

PATRICK Roberts stole the show by scoring against his parent club as Manchester C i t y ’s Champions League group campaign ended with a lowkey draw against Celtic.

The 19-year-old attacker, who has been on loan with the Scottish champions since February, struck after just four minutes as Celtic held City 1-1 at the Etihad Stadium.

It was an excellent way to catch the eye of City boss Pep Guardiola, who, while reluctant to overdo the praise, will consider the youngster for a role in his squad when he returns south next summer.

“He was good, especially the goal which was fantastic,” Guardiola said.

“He played well, he’s a good player. We are going to think about (him) at the end of the season.”

Roberts himself was pleased with his display and revealed he was congratulated by Guardiola after the game.

“He said ‘well done’, so that was nice of him,” said Roberts. “It is not every day you get to score i n the Champions League, especially in a stadium like this against a team like that, so I am very pleased.”

City, who made nine changes, were already assured of second place and qualification for the last 16 while Celtic could not move off the bottom of Group C.

Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers is convinced Roberts has a bright future ahead of him at City.

He said: “It couldn’t have been easy for him but the kid showed his quality.”

Kelechi Iheanacho was City’s goalscorer.

Patrick Roberts opened the scoring for Celtic.