Phil Foden is one of the fastest-growing stars in football, and the fact that he’s only 23 makes his story even more compelling. He’s the one player who has benefited the most from Pep Guardiola’s decision to join Manchester City in the summer of 2016, as the young Englishman got his first call-up to the first team that same season, although he didn’t play much.
Since breaking into the first team the following season, Phil Foden has been a mainstay in the Manchester City team, making him one of the most important players under Guardiola. The Spanish manager even admitted the academy graduate might be the Premier League’s best player this season, thanks to his immense growth and contribution to City’s title charge.
Pep Guardiola claims Phil Foden is ‘the best player’ in EPL
It is more than an honor for a manager as reputable as Pep Guardiola to give a compliment. It means even more when he openly calls a player the best in the whole league, and that’s the kind of joy Phil Foden will be feeling after his manager ranked him higher than Erling Haaland and Kevin De Bruyne by calling him Premier League’s best player this season.
“He can play middle, right, make the moments, and cut inside,” the Manchester City manager said. “He can play in the left and score from the left. What can I say? He is the best player in the Premier League right now for the amount of things he’s done. He’s unbelievable,” Guardiola continued.
“It is the amount of games he’s playing. He was always a talented player, but now, he’s more mature and understands the game more, especially defensively. He loves football; he lives for football,” last season’s treble-winning manager added.
Phil Foden displayed his maturity against Manchester United yesterday as his double helped City come from behind to put their cross-city rivals to the sword, as they ran out the victor in the 3-1 win.
Phil Foden shows off match-winning display on derby game
Phil Foden was the star of the show, as he scored a brace to condemn Manchester United to a 3-1 defeat, putting City just one point behind Liverpool at the top of the table.
Man City went behind early in the game when Marcus Rashford, the only United player good enough to play for City, according to Guardiola, got on the end of a pass from Bruno Fernandes to unleash a thunderous shot past Ederson to hand United the lead in the eighth minute of the game. After that, it was one-way traffic, as Manchester City kept United in their half for the rest of the first half, but thanks to United’s compact defending, City couldn’t get a goal.
Sadly for Erik Ten Hag and his men, City’s breakthrough came through Phil Foden in the 58th minute of the game. The England international went past Victor Lindelof to put a great shot past Andre Onana, and it took him less than 23 minutes to add to his tally to hand City the lead. This was his 18th goal of the season and his 11th in the Premier League.
Foden has made a total of 28 goal contributions this season, with 18 goals and ten assists in 40 appearances in all competitions this season, making him one of City’s most influential players.
