Manchester City beat Slovan Bratislava in the Champions League last night, with Phil Foden shining in the 4-0 win.
Manchester City were held in their opening League Phase match by Inter a couple of weeks ago, but they had a far easier time of things against the Slovakian champions.
City dominated the game from start to finish, with Slovan rarely crossing the halfway line.
Ilkay Gundogan and Phil Foden scored in the first-half, before Erling Haaland and James McAtee wrapped up the game in the second.
It could have been a lot more, but Pep Guardiola was more than satisfied with the performance of his team.
It was good to see Foden shining again, after a bit of a slow start to the new season.
After yesterday’s game, City legend Paul Dickov gave a reaction to his display that most City fans will fully agree with.
Paul Dickov reminds Man City fans that ‘class is permanent’ with Phil Foden
Against Slovan, Foden was making only his second start of the 2024/25 season.
He came back late after playing at the Euros with England, but did actually play the second-half against Chelsea in the first game.
But then he got ill, which set him back a bit.
Over the last few weeks, it has been a case of Foden getting back up to speed.
Some have wondered if there has been a problem behind the scenes given his relative lack of involvement. But there has been nothing to really indicate there is anything untoward, with Pep seemingly just trying to manage him carefully.
Last night, Foden played the full game and really shone, scoring himself and assisting McAtee.
He was named the official Player of the Match and after the game, City legend Paul Dickov sent a message to Foden on X.
Reacting to Foden being named the game’s best player, he wrote a message that many City fans will fully agree with: ‘Class is permanent’.
Patience required over Foden
It was fantastic to see Foden really shining last night, even though City will face much tougher opposition this season.
It kind of felt like Foden needed a goal just to get his season kick-started.
He was really good playing as a number 10 and regularly picked the ball up in space between the lines on the half-turn – something he has always done so brilliantly.
His finish was superb into the far bottom corner, and his assist was also very nice to McAtee, as he just flicked the ball through.
Foden may still need a few more weeks to get back to his best level. Even Guardiola said last night after the game that the 24-year-old needs a bit more time.
It has been stop-start for Foden – rightly dubbed ‘unreal’ by Rio Ferdinand previously – so far in 2024/25, but hopefully, it won’t be long before we start seeing the Foden of last season emerge.
