England international has been affected by injuries but manager hopes “step by step” he can return to his best
Pep Guardiola has challenged Phil Foden to rediscover his best form after the midfielder played a decisive role in Manchester City’s 3-0 win over Manchester United on Sunday.
Foden scored the opener at the Etihad before combining with Nico O’Reilly and Jeremy Doku to set up the second goal for Erling Haaland, as City eased past their local rivals in emphatic fashion.
For Guardiola the performance underlined how important the 25-year-old is to the squad.
“We need him so much,” said City’s manager. “We cannot forget two seasons ago when we won the last game against West Ham he was the most important player of the Premier League.
“He was maybe the key player to win that league. Last season for injuries, for other reasons he could not be with us.”
Foden was heavily affected by injuries over the past year, eventually dropping out of the England squad in May, citing mental and physical exhaustion. He came into the derby having missed two of City’s three league games through injury, his only appearance being a 15-minute cameo against Tottenham.
His celebration of his opener with the home support was deeply emotional and showed how much the goal meant to him.
“Hopefully step by step he can get his best,” said Guardiola. “I am pretty sure a game like today against United is a special game for him because he is an incredible Manchester City supporter. I’m sure he’s going to have the best feeling.”
