Frank Christian
Phil Foden recognizes that regaining his peak performance for both Manchester City and the England team may take some time.
The previous season’s PFA and FWA Player of the Year has had a challenging start to the 2024/25 season and has yet to make a starting appearance in a Premier League match under Pep Guardiola’s leadership.
After coming on as a substitute in City’s opening match against Chelsea, an illness sidelined him, preventing him from participating in England’s victories over the Republic of Ireland and Finland in the UEFA Nations League in September.
Since then, he has faced minor injuries and fatigue; however, he was included in the starting team against Slovan Bratislava after a promising performance at Newcastle last weekend.
In that match, Foden scored a brilliant goal to help City to a 2-0 lead and provided an assist for James McAtee in the 4-0 triumph.
“I’m getting there,” he expressed. “It has been a gradual start, but I’m starting to feel like myself again, and I’m thrilled to contribute to the team and score.”
“I’m really glad to be playing again and doing what I love. Though I’m not fully fit, I’m making progress.”
A fantastic 4-0 win in Bratislava with some magical moments! #UCL Highlights pic.twitter.com/ed6SuSRoyf
— Manchester City (@ManCity) October 1, 2024
With his goal, Foden became one of only four players to score in all seven of the last Champions League editions, joining the likes of Antoine Griezmann, Kylian Mbappe, and Robert Lewandowski.
In an interesting twist, fellow City academy graduate McAtee is experiencing a different aspect of his career, having scored his first official goal for the team. The fact that Rico Lewis, Foden, and McAtee— all devoted City fans—were involved in the goal marked a heartening moment amid a night that didn’t showcase the new league format of this competition in the best light.
“It’s incredible to see—playing in the first team is a dream realized for us,” Foden noted. “We’ve all put in so much effort to get here. It’s wonderful to be out there together; we’ve worked hard for this.”
“As a kid, I dreamed about playing in the Champions League and hearing that anthem before games. Scoring in the Champions League always gives me that unique and special feeling.”
