Manchester City thrashed Aston Villa 4-1 in a Premier League match at the Etihad Stadium last Wednesday to rise to the second position (they are now third after Liverpool’s win over Sheffield United) in the league table with 67 points from 30 matches. Phil Foden scored a magnificent hat-trick to guide the Cityzens to the victory.
Manchester City still trail Arsenal by a solitary point, but will know very well from past experience that the difference can be erased. In fact, the pressure will be more on the Gunners and Liverpool, as they are slightly ahead than the Cityzens at the moment, and will feel that the title is theirs to lose.
Foden is having a great season for Manchester City
The 23-year-old English winger, who is into his seventh season for Manchester City, has scored a very impressive 21 goals in 43 matches for them this season. Wednesday’s master-class involved three brilliant finishes from the edge of the penalty box by Foden. Incidentally, each of the three goals came off his lethal left foot.
Foden is most comfortable playing on the right flank, as it allows him to cut in through the inside-right channel and take shots at the goal. The nimble-footed Englishman is quite comfortable in tight spaces, but has developed the ability to score with powerful shots of late. This has made him an even more dangerous player.
Along with Mohamed Salah, Foden has the best left foot in the Premier League
Foden is right up there in terms of having the best left foot in the business in English football. In fact, he is probably rivaled by only Mohamed Salah of Liverpool in this regard. The 32-year-old Egyptian has scored 22 goals in 33 matches for the Reds this season, thereby continuing to stake his claim as one of the best ever players to play for the club.
However, while Salah is better at finding his teammates inside the opposition penalty box with precise passes, Foden’s shooting ability is probably a bit better than the Egyptian’s. Moreover, Foden has still got time to improve his abilities further, which is a scary proposition for the opposition defenders.
Other players with lethal left feet in England include Cole Palmer of Chelsea, Bukayo Saka of Arsenal, Dejan Kulusevski of Tottenham Hotspur and Miguel Almiron of Newcastle United. However, in terms of consistency and performing in important matches, Salah and Foden are a shade above the rest.
Foden is probably the most important attacking player for the champions
The Englishman is quite possibly the most important attacking player for the Cityzens, even ahead of Kevin de Bruyne and Erling Haaland in terms of recent performances. If Pep Guardiola’s side is to win their fifth league title in six seasons, Foden will have to keep performing the way he is currently.
Guardiola has already touted him as the best player in Premier League recently. However, in order to extract the best out of Foden, Manchester City should probably employ him on the right flank and put Bernardo Silva on the left instead of doing the reverse.
However, against Aston Villa, Foden played as a No. 8 in City’s 4-3-3, which sort of gave him more freedom to unleash his attacking prowess. Guardiola might keep that in mind for the matches in future.