Manchester City star Phil Foden will dwell on one mistake rather than two goals against Newport
Foden produced perhaps the most impressive performance of his senior career to date at Rodney Parade
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Your support makes all the difference.Phil Foden may have scored his first Manchester City brace against Newport County, but he will learn more from a mistake which almost proved costly.
Foden produced perhaps the most impressive performance of his senior career to date at Rodney Parade on Saturday, as City secured an FA Cup quarter-final place with a 4-1 win.
The 18-year-old scored twice and generally impressed on a difficult pitch, in front of hostile crowd and against a fourth-tier opponents that went down fighting.
But the evening could have taken a different course had Ederson not stopped a close-range header by Newport’s Tyreeq Bakinson with an extraordinary save early on.
Bakinson came within inches of putting Newport ahead, having evaded his marker at the far post. The City player supposed to be watching him was Foden.
The teenager was largely delighted with performance, having seized his opportunity to impress by scoring two goals.
But when asked whether there were any elements of his performance he was disappointed by, Foden admitted: “There were a few!
“I let my man go in the first half and he nearly scored at the back post. That was a massive one.
“I’ll definitely dwell on that [rather than the goals]. That’s the thing I need to learn, the defensive side of the game. I’m going to work on that.”
Despite there being room for improvement in his game, Guardiola hailed Foden’s performance as “brilliant” and declared him “ready” to compete for regular minutes.
Foden’s appearances have largely been limited to the domestic cup competitions and he is still to make his first Premier League start for City.
But the youngster knows that if he continues to catch Guardiola’s eye as and when opportunities arrive, he will soon see consistent playing time.
“I need to keep going. It’s important to play my game every time I get a chance. That’s what I’m trying to do,” he said.
“I’ve been around the first team for a year now. I’ve learned everything I need to know regarding the basics with Pep.
“He’s quite strict with his game plans. I know all that now. It’s about stepping forward and trying to impress him. I’m ready to go and I’m trying to make my point.”
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