Pep Guardiola chat showed Man City Phil Foden’s true midfield value vs RB Leipzig

Phil Foden had not long equalised for Manchester City when Pep Guardiola called him over for a detailed tactical discussion ahead of the final 20 minutes of this confusing Champions League tie.

This was a big night for Foden, starting as a left-sided No. 8, with Bernardo Silva on the right and Jack Grealish on the left. The academy graduate has begun to see a little more action in the middle this season, but there’s no doubt starting there in a Champions League tie against the group’s toughest opponents was a night on which he would be judged a little more intently.

Foden raced back on after his chat with Guardiola and immediately began repeating the instructions, first to Bernardo, then to Rodri, with hand signals giving a sign of the intent with which the message was being delivered. On a night when the 23-year-old played a vital role on the pitch, it was a sign of the responsibility on his shoulders that Guardiola used him to get messages across to the team and to players his senior.

Foden had his moments in what was a disastrous first half for City. That they trailed 2-0 at the break wasn’t on him. Dias and Manuel Akanji made individual errors allowing Lois Openda to race clear and score and the performance deteriorated the longer the first half went on.

Guardiola turned to his bench at the break and then again just minutes into the second half, but when Jeremy Doku and Julian Alvarez were sent for, it was telling both that Foden stayed on and stayed central. That faith was repaid almost instantly, when Foden controlled a pass from Alvarez and then flicked a left-footed pass into Erling Haaland, who was breaking clear of the RB Leipzig defence and took his chance well.

It was a move City had been looking for all night. Rico Lewis, operating next to Foden in a Mancunian heartbeat for City, found the Norwegian in a good position early on, but his touch let him down.

Lewis has quickly made the centre of the pitch his home, but his control of proceedings hasn’t come as easily to Foden. His natural impulse to look for a killer ball or take a shot on doesn’t always sit easily with Guardiola. Neither does his defensive acumen in that position.

There was a moment in the second half when Foden tried to poke the ball through the legs of his opponent, which earned a frustrated shake of the head from his manager, but other than that he used the ball intelligently. Early in the game he had the chance to try and find Jack Grealish in behind makeshift right-back Amadou Haidara, but Foden held onto the ball, perhaps calculating Grealish wouldn’t have the pace to get clear. He took an extra touch and found the winger to feet.

Having made the first goal, Foden delivered the equaliser himself. It was Lewis who had looked more dangerous in the first half, intelligently finding space around the edge of the area and blazing one excellent chance over.

Foden has far more composure in front of goal and when he drifted between the two central defenders to collect a pass from Josko Gvardiol, he showed his fellow academy graduate how it’s done. His touch to shift the ball away from Mohamed Simakan was sublime and his finish was made to look simple.

Once City had clawed their way back level, a winner looked inevitable, although they still didn’t have it all their own way. The source of the goal was no surprise.

Jeremy Doku had lit up the left flank in his time on the pitch and another burst down that wing saw him find Foden, who controlled inside the area and managed to squeeze a low cross into a dangerous area. A deflection teed it up nicely for Alvarez to complete the comeback.

Foden finished the game with two assists and a goal. Maybe just as importantly, he finished the game more or less in the position he had started it. In the centre of the pitch in a Champions League game.