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‘He’s becoming the go-to man for Manchester City’: Phil Foden praised by Joleon Lescott and Owen Hargreaves for their excellent display after scoring the winning goal against Olympiacos to seal Champions League progression for the Pep Guardiola’s team
Joleon Lescott and Owen Hargreaves praised Manchester City’s Phil Foden after the midfielder scored his team’s winning goal in the Champions League over Olympiacos.
Foden scored a resounding finish in the first half after Raheem Sterling repeated Wednesday night to win a 1-0 win in Greece and seal City’s passage to the knockout stages with two group games to play.
The former City Lescott defender says the young English international is becoming Pep Guardiola’s ‘man of reference’ at Etihad Stadium and praised Foden’s commitment to the cause.
Phil Foden scored the winning goal as Manchester City beat Olympiacos 1-0 on Wednesday
Foden scored a low effort in the first half to seal City’s progression to the knockout rounds
Lescott told BT Sport on Wednesday: ‘Every time you see Phil play, his sense of space and awareness is so unique. You can’t train him, he gets away from people very easily.
‘He is a natural talent. He has great energy that he brings to the team. Play with a lot of energy and passion.
‘Only Pep will know (why he is not in the Premier League team). Creating moments like that will help. It bodes well for him that he has more minutes.
“He’s becoming the go-to man for City, like he was against West Ham when he came in and changed the game.”
Joleon Lescott (above) praised Foden’s passion and energy that he brought to the field in Greece
BT Sport expert Owen Hargreaves added: “It’s nice to see Phil fill the positions that David Silva had.
“That is his great ability, a sense of conscience and he is a really special player. It’s great to see that quick and sharp player (in him). ”
The triumph at Olympiacos was Foden’s fourth goal of the season and increases his chances of appearing more regularly in Guardiola’s Premier League starting XI.
Owen Hargreaves (above) compared Foden to former City star David Silva on Wednesday night.
The 20-year-old has not started in recent City league games and has played just 27 minutes of Premier League football since late October.
Foden praised his team’s performance in Greece and also paid tribute to City and England teammate Sterling for his clever no-look assist on Wednesday night.
The midfielder told BT: ‘It is (qualification for the round of 16) really important for this club.
Foden has been described as Pep Guardiola’s ‘reference man’ (above) in the Manchester City team
Foden (right) praised City’s Raheem Sterling (left) for his excellent heel assist for the goal.
‘Fair play at Olympiacos came out in the second half and they made it difficult for us. We did very well to unearth the result.
‘He (Sterling) is a great player in those areas and he kind of saw me. It’s great to play with him.
“It’s something we have to work on, score more goals in games. But we are creating opportunities, hopefully one day we will get there and can win the match comfortably. I think we can do that. ‘
