Phil Foden is currently causing a sensation at Manchester City. The 23-year-old attacking player is flourishing in his seventh season as a professional
Pep Guardiola has been Manchester City coach since the summer of 2016. The Catalan, who is a world-class coach himself, has had some top players under his wing since then – currently, the recovered attacking players Erling Haaland (23) and Kevin De Bruyne (32) are often referred to as the Skyblues’ players to watch.
However, it was not De Bruyne or Haaland, but Phil Foden, who like the Norwegian is only 23 years old, who decided the game at Brentford FC on Monday evening. Foden, who has been a professional since the 2017/18 season, scored a brace in the 3-1 win after falling behind, with Haaland and De Bruyne (one each) providing two assists
Foden was the match-winner and, thanks to the England international, champions ManCity are now just two points ahead of Liverpool with a game in hand. But why is the homegrown striker, who has scored eight goals in the last six PL games alone, so strong at the moment?
The center inspires Foden
“I’m just playing more minutes and more in the center,” Foden is quoted as saying by the Premier League’s official website. He is “a person who adapts and can play in many positions when needed”. And Foden, who prefers to play in the ten, “knows that I will play in many positions in this team”. His recipe for success? “I enjoy playing anywhere in midfield, that’s where I see myself at my best.”
Foden believes his form is “probably the best I’ve had in a City shirt for a long time”. His coach Guardiola even trumped this statement and not only spoke of Foden’s best game in view of the victory at the Bees. “He’s playing his best season since we started working together,” the ex-Bayern coach said.
Versatility as a trump card
Guardiola emphasized Foden’s versatility above all else. He said he had “the ability to get into spaces and into the middle of the goal because he likes to get into the penalty area”. Something that worked very well against Brentford (“They are deep and he is very important as a player who moves in those spaces”). Guardiola’s match plan even worked so well that a Premier League goal record was set thanks to Foden’s strike
