After a brace in the derby
©Imago/Content stadium
Not only was Phil Foden the decisive player in the Manchester derby last weekend, the 23-year-old City native also delivered unrivaled personal top values over the entire season. His coach Pep Guardiola praised the England international as “currently the best player in the Premier League” – transfer market expert Stefan Bienkowski, Lead of Content UK, takes a look at Foden’s recent development and makes it clear how important the youngster currently is for his training club .
“It’s the amount of games he plays. “He was always a talented player, but now he’s more mature and understands the game better, especially in defense,” Guardiola told the BBC on Sunday after his team beat city rivals United 3-1 to their third derby win in a row had entered. “He can play in the middle and on the right, create situations and cut inside, play on the left and score from the left. What can I say? He is currently the best player in the Premier League in terms of all the things he does in a game. Unbelievable,” continued the Spaniard. In fact, the English international impressed again in the city derby when it counted: In the 56th minute, Foden equalized with an outstanding long-range shot into the top left corner, and in the 80th minute he finished after a wonderful one-two with Julián Álvarez successfully for the second time. Erling Haaland topped it off with his stoppage-time goal, but there was little doubt around the Etihad Stadium as to who had won the game for Man City that day.
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With the two goals on Sunday, Foden increased his scoring tally in the Premier League to 18 goals this season. This already corresponds to the national player’s personal best, with eleven games still remaining in the English upper house. Looking across Europe, the City homegrown team also shot up the list of U23 players with the most goals and assists in the top 5 leagues – only Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid), Bukayo Saka (Arsenal FC) and teammate Haaland have better statistics (for an overview in the TM database). The impressive numbers aren’t enough: Foden was directly involved in 29 percent of all Man City’s league goals this season – for comparison: last season his rate was 17 percent.
There is an obvious reason for Foden’s growing influence at Man City: the English talent has long been hailed as the heir to Kevin de Bruyne’s throne at the Etihad Stadium, and that has more or less proven true this season – in part because the Belgian playmaker is out injured missed the first 20 league games. Guardiola gave Foden his trust, which significantly increased the young Englishman’s playing time. The left-footed player was Man City’s most used outfield player in the league this season, his playing time increasing from 54 percent last to 91 percent this season. In addition, his average minutes per game rose from 58 to 91, and he is currently an integral part of Guardiola’s first eleven. Should Man City win their fifth league title in a row in May, the club will owe Foden a huge debt of gratitude. The young homegrown player who has been waiting patiently for several years to become a star at his training club – and who has impressively demonstrated his exceptional value this season at the latest.
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