'Always going to be at the top': Pep Guardiola has a standard-setter at Man City - and it's not Erling Haaland

Manchester City have relied heavily on the prolific brilliance of Erling Haaland this season, with the Norwegian scoring a whopping 19 goals in just 18 appearances across all competitions.

However, Haaland has drawn a blank in front of goal in his last two Premier League matches and a different Man City attacker in the form of Phil Foden stepped up to deliver an inspired performance in last weekend’s last-gasp 3-2 home victory over Leeds United.

Having fired Pep Guardiola’s men into a 59-second lead, Foden then produced a moment of magic as he rifled home a 91st-minute winner after Leeds had staged an admirable second-half fightback from two goals down to draw level.

After the match, Guardiola heaped praise on Foden, calling him “a joy, a pleasure and a gift to have” at Man City, where he has now scored six goals in all tournaments this season, including four in his last four appearances at the Etihad Stadium.

When analysing the plethora of qualities that the 25-year-old brings to Man City, one facet in particular stands out for Guardiola.

“He has the mentality of being positive and saying, ‘I’m going to win the game,’” said the Catalan. “When the situation is uncomfortable, some players take a step back, but Phil is completely the opposite. [He says] ‘Give me the ball - I want to score.’

“That is the difference between [many] players and those at the very top. For Phil it is, ‘Give me the ball as I want to score, or dribble and win the games.’”

Foden has the “belief” that some of his Man City teammates are “lacking”

Man City expert Steven McInerney from Esteemed Kompany agrees with Guardiola and believes that Foden’s "brave" mentality is what a lot of his teammates have been lacking in recent weeks.

Speaking to Sports Mole, McInerney said: “It's what we've been lacking if I’m being honest. One of my biggest frustrations, and Guardiola said after the Leverkusen game, is that he said we didn't try.

“He doesn't mean in terms of working hard and all that kind of stuff - these players are fundamentally top-class professionals, they're going to work hard, they're going to do what the manager asks for them - but what he means is bravery, he means aggression.

“He wants them to assert themselves and that was the main thing I got from that Leverkusen game - these players are too afraid to make mistakes. They are a bunch of players extremely talented, but Guardiola said afterwards that he feels like he believes in some of these players more than they do themselves. He said that ahead of the Leeds game and that to me is telling.

“He's saying these players maybe lack self-belief. I believe there's a healthy level of arrogance - call it confidence, arrogance, whatever you want to call it - that comes with the territory of being an elite footballer.

“I think some of these players don't necessarily have that belief. Maybe it will come. I don't know if you can buy that, I don't know if you can improve it or if it is just part of their psychology, but to me it's obvious that Phil Foden has that.

“Setting the standard” - Foden is “always going to be at the top of the sport”

Reacting to Guardiola’s aforementioned praise for Foden, McInerney added: “I don't think it's a coincidence Guardiola saying that about Foden, only days after saying that some of these players didn't try. To me, Phil Foden is an example of a player who's always going to be at the top of the sport. He's always going to be there because Phil is brave. Phil has quality and he wants it.

“They all want it, but there's a difference in wanting it and taking it. I think people like Phil Foden, they take that chance, they score goals and they win you titles. They score goals playing as a false nine when you're 19 years old, or on the right in big games against Liverpool in title challenges, or to score the first goal in a game that could win the league against West Ham, as the young lad stepping up when [Kevin] De Bruyne wasn't available.

“That's what we've seen from Phil Foden time and time again, and I think that's the standard that Manchester City want from players. They want players who believe.

“I look what we've lost over the last year or two...as much as Kyle Walker had his issues, Kyle Walker believed he was the best right-back in the world, he was, and that was a healthy confidence. I think [Ilkay] Gundogan probably believed he was better than most players, and he was. De Bruyne definitely believed it, and he was. [Riyad] Mahrez 100% believed it. Mahrez would take the ball off anyone for a free kick or a penalty.

“You have to have that. I think we’ve lost a bit of that and I hope we get it back. To go full circle, I love seeing Phil Foden score those goals, because he's setting the standard there, he is a leader now for this team and that is what Manchester City need more of, people like Phil Foden.”

Foden is a “leader” ready to take responsibility at Man City

McInerney is expecting Foden to have a big role to play in Guardiola’s team during a busy December period when Man City will prepare for seven games across three different competitions, starting with Tuesday’s Premier League clash away against Fulham.

“I'm hoping he takes that confidence and just runs with it,” said McInerney. “He’s said he feels like a leader now, he feels maturer. To me, when people say things like that, he sounds a little bit like he's convincing himself still - that's fine, he's only 25 years old, he'll feel young still. It takes an awful long time to suddenly feel like you're the man.

“I feel like there's a little bit of persuading himself. I think Phil Foden is a weird mixture of sincere humility - I think he is genuinely humble - but also wanting the ball.

“I think he's a very strange one where he is better and he's incredibly humble, but I think he's actually not quite as secure as some of these players, hence why last season I think his confidence was affected.

“Still, I think it will switch, it will happen. It's very obvious that these young players, these new signings, are looking up to him and I think he's trying his best, which is brilliant, to take on responsibility.

“As a guy at 25 years old who has been playing for Manchester City since 2017, nearing a decade, I feel like he feels responsibility to take responsibility. Even if it still feels a little bit alien to him - I might be wrong there but my guess is it does - he's clearly trying and that's all that can be said.

“If a player knows they have responsibility and they want to try and take it, and you've got talent Phil Foden, then he should be pivotal over the next few games.”

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