Kyle Walker has explained the nickname Manchester City players have for teammate Phil Foden.
Manchester City continued their sensational start to 2024 by going 19 games unbeaten with a 3-1 win over Manchester United on Sunday.
Marcus Rashford had given the visitors a shock early lead with a fantastic goal but City didn’t lose their cool.
Though Andre Onana kept them at bay and Erling Haaland missed a sitter, City continued to dominate and eventually levelled things up.
It was Phil Foden who blasted in his own screamer for the equaliser and he put Pep Guardiola’s side ahead with a smart finish, too.
Haaland then made up for his miss by adding a third in stoppage time.
After the game, Kyle Walker sang Foden’s praises and also explained his ‘the Sniper’ nickname.
Kyle Walker explains Phil Foden’s nickname
Speaking to Sky Sports, Walker said: “You know when he comes in on his left foot, we call him the Sniper because he likes to shoot.
“He likes a shot, when he comes in on that left foot you know he has the quality, the calmness and the composure to pick his spot and I think he’s took his goal fantastically well.
“He’s been shooting since I turned up in 2017, he loves a shot but listen he practises.
“He puts in the work, he’s always doing extra shooting and maybe sometimes you need that…
“I won’t call it luck because you create your own luck, but his goals are coming in, he’s reaping the rewards and he needs to keep those standards up.”
The Sniper is hitting the target
Foden may have helped City claim a historic treble last season yet he is personally enjoying a better season than even that.
Guardiola, most pundits and even Foden himself all agree he is enjoying the best season of his career and the stats back that up.
The 23-year-old’s brace against United took him up to 28 goal contributions for the season, with 18 goals and 10 assists.
Foden’s previous best tally was 26 so he has already beaten that with a significant chunk of football still left to play this season.
Who knows how many he will reach on this form?
