Phil Foden marked his return to Manchester City’s starting line-up with a wonderful opening goal in his side’s 5-0 battering of Sparta Prague.
Ahead of the contest, Pep Guardiola claimed Foden “feels much better” and “he will back soon”; insinuating that the 24-year-old is still not fully fit yet.
Foden sent a message to Guardiola by scoring a lovely strike as he took Manuel Akanji’s incisive pass in his path and scored his second goal in the Champions League this season.
The Englishman played throughout the course of the contest at the Etihad Stadium as well.
Last season, Foden revealed the number 10 is his favourite position — where he started for City in a midfield that also featured Ilkay Gundogan as a number six and Bernardo Silva in an advanced role.
Foden would have been delighted to get on the scoresheet as a part of a brilliant Manchester City performance.
Phil Foden has more Champions League goals than David Beckham after Man City vs Sparta Prague
Foden surpassed Bukayo Saka’s goal contributions in the Champions League with 11 goals and assists in total since last season after his heroics against Slovan Bratislava; a number which has risen to 12 after his outing against Slavia Prague.
Foden has more assists than Eden Hazard in the Champions League after he set up James McAtee’s first goal in the competition during City’s win against Bratislava.
After Manchester City cruised past Sparta Prague, Foden (17) now has more goals in Europe’s elite competition than David Beckham (16) — according to Squawka Live.
Impressively, the City academy graduate has done so in 52 fewer appearances in the Champions League than the Manchester United legend.
Beckham played for several top clubs in the competition such as United, Real Madrid, AC Milan and Paris Saint-Germain.
Foden has won as many Champions League titles (one) as the former England captain while also winning the same number of Premier League titles (six).
The Athletic revealed that the former also surpassed Beckham’s goal tally for Manchester United across all competitions (85) as he scored a brace in Manchester City’s 3-1 win against West Ham United last season; as he currently has 91 goals for his boyhood club.
What Beckham said about Foden in 2024
The retired winger will likely be happy for Foden, as he seems to admire his game.
David Beckham named himself as a fan of Foden despite choosing Dwight Yorke over him while picking a combined XI from Manchester City and Manchester United’s respective treble-winning teams.
“I’d go Yorkey as well [like Gary Neville did]. I love Phil though, I do love Phil. I love his passion for the club.”
Being a Manchester United academy graduate as well, Beckham can perhaps identify with Foden and his love for Manchester City.
The decorated attacker is showcasing that he is a statistically superior goalscorer to the La Liga winner now.
Foden will be honoured upon coming across surpassing Beckham’s goal tally in the Champions League as he is not just a legend of the game but an icon for English football.
