Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola explained that Phil Foden’s burst of good form has coincided with a move to his best position on the pitch as a central No. 10, from where he can best display his “unique” talent.
Foden scored the opener and teed up Savinho for City’s second in a comfortable 2–0 Carabao Cup victory over Huddersfield Town on Wednesday evening. The deft left footer has enjoyed a remarkable September; terrorising Manchester United in the first derby of the season before dovetailing to devastating effect with Erling Haaland against Napoli in last week’s Champions League opener.
Over the last four games, Foden boasts two goals and as many assists. The academy graduate had been able to must just one assist across his final 18 appearances of the 2024–25 domestic campaign.
Finally fully fit again, Guardiola puts Foden’s surge down to positioning as much as physicality. “Close to the box I think he plays in the pockets perfectly,” the City boss mused following the midweek cup win.
“When he plays a little bit free and close to the box, he can do something that is unique, we know that. When Phil plays in that position behind the strikers, he’s a real threat.
“We’ve seen already with Phil [these last] few games. When the team play better, when every player makes his potential...but it’s not just today. The game against Arsenal, [Manchester] United, Napoli, he was really good.”
Foden Replacing the Void of Kevin De Bruyne
It was a devilish pass from Foden to release Erling Haaland which forced Napoli’s Giovanni Di Lorenzo into a rash lunge in the 21st minute of last week’s European clash at the Etihad. Antonio Conte, never one to act on sentiment, hauled off Kevin De Bruyne to prematurely conclude his Manchester City reunion.
De Bruyne’s summer exit could be viewed as a burden, but Foden has taken it as an opportunity to flourish. “With the likes of Kev going, someone needs to step up and create more chances and hopefully I can be that man and I think I’ve showed that,” he told the club’s website last week.
The best form of Foden’s career came during the 2023–24 campaign when he was crowned Premier League Player of the Year. Just as Guardiola pointed out, he was operating in a central role thanks largely to injury issues suffered by De Bruyne—who featured in fewer than half of the club’s league fixtures that year. It was Foden who became plagued by fitness concerns last term.
“A lot of players played with a lot of niggles and last year, I picked up a lot that I had to play with and it’s not an excuse why I wasn’t at my best, but it was a full team problem,” he explained.
“I don’t think everyone wasn’t up to the standards, but I feel like now there’s fresh minds, fresh players and we’re ready to start again.”
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as ‘Unique’—Pep Guardiola Reveals Secret Behind Phil Foden’s Remarkable Return to Form.
