Two goals and an assist in the 4-1 win over Brighton underlined Foden’s leapfrog as the new star of Pep Guardiola’s squad.
To underscore Phil Foden’s influence, the rising Manchester City star has been involved in more goals than Cristiano Ronaldo so far this season.
Foden would likely have contributed more had he not missed the first month of the season with a foot injury.
The 21-year-old has now scored four goals and four assist after scoring two goals in City’s 4-1 win over Brighton, last weekend. He also provided a goal-winning pass for Riyad Mahrez’s fourth goal.
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Ronaldo does score more goals [enam] since switching to return to Manchester United and there is still no bigger name in the city right now.
Cristiano would still be the biggest name if last summer’s move to the Etihad Stadium had happened, but the two sides of Manchester City would be very different.
When the 36-year-old completed his move to United, the intriguing question of how the five-time Ballon d’Or winner under Pep Guardiola had performed was stale.
The City boss demands that his attackers don’t just score goals. Foden for example, he ran more than any other player on the pitch in the win over Brighton. The player led the relentless pressure of The Citizens which forced the host defense to make a number of mistakes. While Ronaldo, did not do the same for United.
After Ilkay Gundogan put City ahead, Foden’s first goal came from a quick counter-attack. He ran fast to meet Jack Grealish’s pass.
Foden deflected Gabriel Jesus’ strike for his second and the first name still had half a dozen shots left to try to score a hat-trick.
When another opportunity came in the extra minute, instead of making a final attempt, he instead chose to provide a simple pass to Mahrez to complete the victory. Will Ronaldo do it? That’s debatable.
However, if Foden’s ego gets bigger, Guardiola must check it until the end of the game. Of course, credit must go to Foden. But, his performance so far is another reminder that he still has a lot more to offer.
“There are players who play in one position and there are players who play football,” said Guardiola.
“What is meant by playing football is those who can play in any position and understand the game.”
“Unfortunately, in the last few games he wasted chances in front of goal. At Anfield, he didn’t make good decisions because he was too young. He will learn a lot. When he will do it, make another decision, he will score more goals.”
“It doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter in what position he plays. He plays well. Sometimes we need him here, there, right, left, it doesn’t matter. He’s an important player.”
In the England national team, Foden is the number 10 most influential player in the Three Lions squad. In front of him, coach Gareth Southgate put Harry Kane, the striker who has fascinated Guardiola all summer.
But it shows Foden’s love and understanding of the concept of the game Pep is referring to. He enjoys playing the role of the fake number nine forward for his team.
“I enjoy it,” Foden told Sky Sports after the game.
“I can go deeper and have the ball, pass passes. It’s a new role and I’m enjoying it,” said the City academy dropout.
“It changes from game to game, sometimes I attack more than usual. It depends on how the opponent defends. The goal is to have the ball and get as much ball as possible. We used the other players well when I tried to go deeper to control the game.”
While Guardiola wants Foden to be more ferocious in front of goal, it should also be noted that no player has scored as many goals for City since the start of last season. The distribution of goals in this team is fairly even.
Yes, false-nine unlikely to be Foden’s long-term position at City. Understandably, a new striker will be a priority in the upcoming transfer window. But it all shows the quality of the Manchester native, not many players can do better.
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