- Manchester City are locked in a three-horse title race with Liverpool and Arsenal
- Phil Foden is the bookies’ favorite to win the PFA Player of the Year award
- Foden reveals what it’s REALLY like to play for Pep Guardiola in an It’s All Kicking Off special. Listen Spotify, Apple or anywhere you get your podcasts
Pep Guardiola wants Phil Foden to take his foot off the accelerator as Manchester City pushes forward in search of an unprecedented fourth consecutive Premier League crown.
Foden, the bookmakers’ favorite to win the PFA Player of the Year award, added another two goals to his growing collection as City easily beat Brighton 4-0 on Thursday night.
Guardiola has developed the 23-year-old into a match-winning central midfielder ready to replace Kevin De Bruyne and believes the academy graduate is learning the changes of pace needed to master that position.
But, in what seems a sinister suggestion, the Town boss said Foden can still improve his timing.
“Phil has a sixth gear but he can’t play in that sixth gear all the time,” Guardiola said. ‘Sometimes he has to play second or third.
Phil Foden is the bookies’ favorite to win the PFA Player of the Year award this campaign.
Foden was among the goals again on Thursday night, scoring twice against Brighton.
Pep Guardiola has asked his star to take his foot off the accelerator in the title race after another impressive performance
‘In time, you will learn. Brighton were much better than in the previous two or three games and don’t always need to be so quick. No.
“In football sometimes you have to play slower to be able to surprise your opponent faster and in Brighton it was really good.” He chose the right moments to attack.
“I would love it to be in sixth gear in every action, but then you are less precise, you lose the ball all the time and that is not effective.” “You have to know the moments when you have to be more aggressive or calm.”
Foden has seen the likes of De Bruyne, boyhood hero David Silva and Ilkay Gundogan perfect the art of that role in a Guardiola team and is using that experience to thrive.
With 23 goals and assists in 31 Premier League appearances, Foden is enjoying the best season of his career. There are 24 goals and 10 assists in 48 games in all competitions and it is the main reason why City has remained in the title race.
“He will understand the game through years and years and experiences,” Guardiola added. “It’s going to take time, but he loves to play and his work rate is incredible.”
‘How he runs, he presses. Sometimes we are very happy and happy for him. We must congratulate him and I hope that in the last month that he has ahead of us he doesn’t stop.
But it’s only a matter of time. “He can improve a lot and has improved a lot since the beginning of the season and from previous seasons.”
