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Manchester City: Next Season Should Be Phil Foden’s Time

By Dan Larsen

MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - APRIL 20: Phil Foden of Manchester City runs with the ball during the Premier League match between Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur at Etihad Stadium on April 20, 2019 in Manchester, United Kingdom. (Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)
MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - APRIL 20: Phil Foden of Manchester City runs with the ball during the Premier League match between Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur at Etihad Stadium on April 20, 2019 in Manchester, United Kingdom. (Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images) /
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New Year, New Opportunity

MANCHESTER, ENGLAND – MARCH 12: Phil Foden of Manchester City celebrates after he scores his team’s sixth goal during the UEFA Champions League Round of 16 Second Leg match between Manchester City v FC Schalke 04 at Etihad Stadium on March 12, 2019 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images)
MANCHESTER, ENGLAND – MARCH 12: Phil Foden of Manchester City celebrates after he scores his team’s sixth goal during the UEFA Champions League Round of 16 Second Leg match between Manchester City v FC Schalke 04 at Etihad Stadium on March 12, 2019 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images) /

With the turn of the year, and the arrival of the FA Cup, Phil Foden would get several more chances to play big minutes for the first team. He shined once again.

Foden contributed a goal in City’s 7-0 thrashing of Rotherham in their first FA Cup game of the season. Three days later, in City’s 9-0 thrashing of Burton Albion in the first leg of the Carabao Cup Semi-Finals, he would contribute another goal, this time as a substitute.

He would put another solid 90 minute shift in during City’s dead rubber second leg tie against Burton Albion in the Carabao Cup a few weeks later.

His best performance of the season, however, may have come in the middle of February in City’s 4-1 win over Newport County in the FA Cup. Foden would contribute two goals to the proceedings that day.

His first would put City up 2-0 in the 75th minute. That goal came in handy as Newport would manage a shock goal in the 88th minute off of a bad defensive moment from Ederson. Just when it seemed like Newport would reapply some brief last minute pressure to the tie, Foden would strike again just seconds later, putting City up 3-1 and the tie out of reach.

Closing the Year

After that day, Foden would make an impact on a game two more times. The first came as a sub in City’s 7-0 destruction of Schalke in the second leg of their round of 16 tie in the UEFA Champions League. Foden would get his first career UCL goal that day, becoming one of the youngest players to ever score in the tournament.

His most important goal of the season, though, would come in City’s Premier League game against Spurs at the end of April. Foden got a shock start in the side just days after City had gone out in the most heartbreaking of fashions in the UCL quarterfinals to Spurs.

Foden would head in the lone goal of the day to give City a 1-0 victory, keeping them in the driver’s seat in the title race. It was a solid performance for an 18 year old making his first and only Premier League start in the highest of high pressure games.