Manchester City got their Champions League campaign off to the perfect start on Thursday night as Pep Guardiola’s men were comfortable 2-0 winners over Napoli.
The Premier League side bossed the contest, which was made easier for them following Giovanni Di Lorenzo’s red card after just 21 minutes, having brought down Erling Haaland, who was through on goal.
That allowed City to break the deadlock in the second half with the Norwegian superstar finishing off a beautiful move, before some Jeremy Doku magic doubled the Premier League giants’ lead.
Doku impressed Man City fans with his display on Thursday night, but it was another player in sky blue that really stole the show.
Phil Foden’s Napoli numbers are very impressive
Foden looked back to his best in Man City’s win over Man United on Sunday as the midfielder opened the scoring in that contest with a lovely header, and the Englishman continued this form on Thursday night.
The 25-year-old ran the show for the Manchester club, providing an insane assist for Haaland’s goal, while his other numbers from the contest add more context to his display.
Foden ended the match with one assist, 82 touches, 56 accurate passes, created eight chances with one being a big chance, had a pass accuracy of 86%, had six touches in the opposition box, four accurate crosses, three passes into the final third, two accurate long balls, one recovery and made one clearance.
There were talks during the summer that Foden was happier at Man City after experiencing a tough 2024/25 campaign, and that is now evident on the pitch.
If the 25-year-old can keep this form up, alongside the way both Haaland and Doku are playing, the Manchester club will be a serious problem for many teams over the coming months.
Phil Foden follows in Kevin De Bruyne’s footsteps
The eight chances Foden created against Napoli was the most by a Manchester City player in the UEFA Champions League since Kevin De Bruyne produced nine against Real Madrid back in August 2020.
This shows the level Foden is currently operating at, and it is exactly what Pep Guardiola needs now that the Belgian superstar has moved on from the Etihad Stadium.
Foden was rightly handed the Man of the Match award after the Napoli match, with Arsenal up next on the Englishman’s radar.
