Gary Neville was left blown away by Phil Foden yesterday as he scored two goals for Manchester City against Manchester United – but there was a moment late on that particularly impressed him.
City beat their bitter rivals 3-1 at the Etihad Stadium to close the gap to Liverpool back down to just one point.
It was a huge win for City, especially after falling behind after Marcus Rashford scored early on.
In truth, it was a very comfortable win in the end for City.
Despite a shocking miss just before half-time from Erling Haaland, City turned things around in the second-half with Phil Foden scoring two and then Haaland atoning in injury-time to wrap things up.
It has been all about Foden since the game – but Gary Neville noticed something he did in the 88th minute of the game that really does set him apart…
Gary Neville hails Phil Foden after brilliant moment in the 88th minute of the Manchester Derby
Foden turned the game on its head yesterday with two brilliant goals.
His first was a rasping drive from the edge of the area, and his second was a low shot across goal from the left side.
He took his tally to 18 for the season, and there is no doubt that he is a goalscorer.
But there is another thing about Foden that makes him a top player, and he showed it in the 88th minute of yesterday’s game.
United tried to counter down their right side with Antony, who was fresh after coming on as a substitute. Nathan Ake kept up with him and then Antony turned back, only to find Foden charging back to help Ake.
He played the ball off Antony and then shielded it to win a throw-in. The crowd loved it, and Foden seized the opportunity to start whipping them up, leading Neville to say: “That is a testament to Foden, and he gets that little celebration over there. That’s what the best do. Still only very young, Phil Foden, but he works as hard back as he does going forward. Take no chances.”
Foden work rate sets him apart
It was a great moment when Foden started whipping up the crowd after he won a throw-in.
It was something relatively simple, but you just know that Pep Guardiola – who said after the game that Foden has been the player of the season – would have absolutely loved that.
As good as Foden is technically, Foden really does have incredible work rate and that is why he is such a top player.
Every player needs it to succeed in a Pep Guardiola team, and he has always had it.
