Phil Foden must have been delighted to be back amongst the goals and the assists for Manchester City in their 4-0 thumping of Slovan Bratislava.
In the build-up to the contest, Pep Guardiola claimed Foden had struggled with certain “niggles” at the start of the season.
As a result, the Manchester City midfielder has had quite a slow start to the 2024/2025 campaign.
However, Foden would have entered City’s latest outing with a point to prove.
The 24-year-old did just that, with a peach of a strike in the first half and an arguably better assist as he lobbed the ball in James McAtee’s path — who extended the visitors’ lead in Slovakia.
The £225,000-a-week man seemed to be in high sprits as he was smiling from ear to ear after Jack Grealish came on to replace him on Tuesday night.
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How Foden has surpassed Saka in the Champions League
Another one of England’s brightest attackers in Bukayo Saka shone in Arsenal’s 2-0 win against Paris Saint-Germain.
Saka’s free-kick at the near post failed to be cleared by any PSG player as it crept pas Gianluigi Donnarumma as he doubled the Gunners’ lead at the Emirates Stadium.
The 23-year-old captained Arsenal and had a real impact on proceedings.
The Ealing-born winger has took Europe’s elite competition by storm since playing in the competition for the first time during the 2023/2024 campaign.
However, Squawka has revealed that Foden has registered more goals and assists (10) than Saka (nine) in the Champions League since the start of last season.
Vinicius Jr. is level on goal involvements with the City attacker while Harry Kane is the only player in the competition to have accumulated more goal contributions with 16 to his name.
All eyes on whether Foden or Saka performs better in the Champions League
Considering both Manchester City and Arsenal are contenders to win the Champions League this season, it will be interesting to see whether Foden or Saka perform better.
The Stockport-born attacker has had a much superior time in Europe due to playing in the competition for far longer.
However, Saka is one of the best players in Europe and he could have a campaign to remember.
Considering Foden outperformed his countryman on the whole last season by winning the PFA Players’ Player of the Year award, he could do so in the Champions League this term and seal the constant debate about which out of the two is better at their respective crafts.
All eyes will be on which out of the two English superstars comes out on top.
