Phil Foden sends message to Thomas Tuchel after turnaround in Manchester City fortunes | OneFootball

Manchester City attacker Phil Foden came to his side’s rescue against Leeds United on Saturday as the Blues avoid dropping points for the third time in a week.

Foden gave his boyhood club the lead with less than a minute on the clock, turning the ball in off the crossbar from Matheus Nunes’ cross. Josko Gvardiol doubled City’s lead from a corner and Pep Guardiola’s side entered the break with a two-goal lead.

The 25-year-old has been in fine form for Manchester City since he made a delayed start to the season in September, opening the scoring in a 3-1 win over Manchester United as the Blues put a run together to claw their way back into the conversation for the Premier League title.

City entered the recent international break with 11 wins out of 14 games in all competitions but recent defeats to Newcastle and Bayer Leverkusen in the Premier League and UEFA Champions League respectively have raised doubts over the Blues’ title-winning prospects this term.

Having thrown away a two-goal lead against a defiant Leeds United side on Saturday, City were in danger of slipping up for the third time in a week at the weekend but Foden’s heroics bailed the Blues out of jail and reduced the gap to leaders Arsenal to five points.

“It’s up there as one of the wildest games. We had full control in the first half. They changed system in the second and we couldn’t get going. It was frustrating,” said Foden in conversation with Manchester City’s official channels after the win.

“But when there was a short break, the manager got us together and we adapted to their formation. We had a few half chances and finally I’ve found a bit of space and found the bottom of the net. There are still things we can improve. We’re delighted with the result.”

City remain in touching distance of Arsenal but being at a nascent stage of their transition under sporting director Hugo Viana, it remains to be seen whether Guardiola’s new-look side have it in them to run the distance against a Gunners side who have looked next to flawless so far this league campaign.

“A title race is never straight forward. There’s always ups and downs and periods where you can’t seem to get going and find results, and I think we’ve found that recently in the last two games,” Foden added in an interview with Sky Sports on Saturday.

“I’m just delighted with the courage and heart the lads showed to keep going and believing we were going to win – and overall, I think the belief and togetherness came through in the end.

“Hopefully we can kick on from here now. But you never know what to expect; every team in the Premier League is so difficult to beat at the moment. We just have to keep growing, putting in work on the training pitch, improving as a team and hopefully we can be there at the end of the season.

“I was so hungry just to play today, not prove to anyone but myself that I can still score. I was a bit frustrated in the last game against Newcastle, I had a few chances I missed so it’s been on my mind to put it right and I was delighted to put two away.”

Foden is showing sign after sign of his 2023-24 PFA Players’ Player of the Year award winning self in the backdrop of an indifferent 2024-25 campaign and England manager Thomas Tuchel will no doubt be keeping a close eye on the Stockport-born star’s performances for City ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.