Following a hard-earned victory against Everton at Goodison Park, Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola strode to the away section to drink in the fans’ adoration.
The Catalan coach chooses his moments to interact with his supporters, so it’s significant when he chooses to shake his fists and applaud after a win.
Guardiola had words and hugs for many of his players, but was willing to accompany Phil Foden and signal to the fans that the player needed to be applauded.
The young Englishman had the boy of the match, scoring the all-important equaliser in a move that saw him take Liverpool by the throat.
Speaking to the media after the game, Guardiola said that in the absence of Erling Haaland and Kevin De Bruyne, it is imperative to have a player who can intervene decisively in tricky situations.
“With the absence of Erling, we don’t have many players with a real sense of goal and that is so important for us how he is playing,” Guardiola explained. “Phil Foden in the end just took the ball and put it in the net.”
This is the first time this season that the Manchester City manager has praised Foden. After a remarkable performance against Newcastle United in August, he has been even more expansive.
“Phil can play in all positions in the forward areas. He has been given ability between the lines, the way he rotates and attacks the backline,” he said.
“He’s one of the most productive I’ve ever seen. With control, he knows exactly how to attack the goal. He doesn’t want two or three touches to be in the right position to attack the goal.
But it would be misleading to say that this season has been a piece of cake for the youngster.
Just a week before the match against Everton, Foden intervened decisively against Crystal Palace in a negative way, first to lose the ball and then concede the penalty that gave the Eagles a 2-2 draw at the Etihad.
In the aftermath of the win on Merseyside, Guardiola did not whitewash that blunder but suggested Foden had learned from it.
“He didn’t win us the game against Crystal Palace, but in the next games against Fluminense [at the Club World Cup] and today [against Everton], he’s learning,” added the coach.
“The last few minutes he did completely different to Crystal Palace.”
At just 23 years old, Foden’s career to date is explained by the flexibility to play in other positions.
A highly anticipated youngster, he began making appearances in City’s wide positions as a teenager.
As he began to identify himself during the 2019/20 season, he was swapped from flank to flank, being equally adept at betting on the left wing as on the right.
Since then he has also been used as a ‘false 9’, in the centre-forward position but occupying positions more related to midfielders.
However, until this season, Foden was rarely used in the number 10 role he was known for banking on in his youth career.
“You know how much I love in between and for a long time, and that continues,” added the boy himself with a characteristic smile after Everton’s victory.
English coach Gareth Southgate has some doubts.
“He doesn’t play there for his club, so there’s probably an explanation for that,” Southgate said after being asked why he wouldn’t choose Foden for a central role.
“In the middle of the park, everyone needs to communicate about when to have the ball, but there are a lot of major points without the ball and games where you have to be exact with urgent angles. If you don’t, you don’t get a sense of how the game is going. “
It’s hard for Foden to suggest that his lack of appearance in a more central role is purely due to a lack of meaning. There is a strong argument that the flexibility of the midfielder means that personal tastes are sacrificed for the team.
There’s also the fact that for most of his career at City, Kevin De Bruyne, one of the world’s most productive players in that role, was the number one starter in that position.
His chance to shine in the role of No. 10 came thanks to De Bruyne and Erling Haaland.
The latter’s injury is very important as it returns Julian Alvarez to his preferred place up front, the Argentine does not have the flexibility to play widely, so when the Norwegian talisman is fit, it is him and not Foden who plays in midfield.
As De Bruyne nears a comeback, it’s possible Foden will be out of the way again.
But he does so after starting to make a significant mark consistently, the goal against Everton followed by two assists in a difficult game against Sheffield United.
He’s often the type to praise his teammates, midfield teammate Rodri told Sky Sports after his first goal in Foden’s trade.
“Phil has the ability to spin so fast. He has that plasticity with the ball that allows him to turn so quickly,” Rodri said.
“We had to be patient but when we can find this pass he is a game-changer. He increases the pace he can shoot and pass.”
Despite winning five trophies in 2023, Foden has enjoyed better seasons as injury severely affected his campaign form.
But with nine goals already this season, he’s well on his way to hitting his numbers and continuing his rise to greatness.