Pep Guardiola gives Phil Foden verdict after being brought off in Man City win vs Southampton

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Manchester City midfielder Phil Foden was withdrawn in the second half as the Blues beat Southampton 2-1 at Wembley Stadium.

Manchester City head coach Pep Guardiola insists it is only a matter of time until Phil Foden is back to his best following his substitution during the 2-1 victory over Southampton. Foden made his first start since March at Wembley but struggled to have an impact in the FA Cup semi-final.

With City struggling to make a breakthrough, Foden was substituted on 58 minutes with his replacement Savinho enjoying more joy down the right-hand side. The England international has not scored since December but Guardiola is adamant that Foden will return to his best.

"Question of a little bit of time," Guardiola said in his post-match press conference. "It was not easy in the first half for him because we were playing in the pockets and his position was being man-marked. For a full-back it is not easy to find him.

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"It is a question of time when he will be back." When asked if he had faith in Foden, Guardiola simply replied: "Absolutely." City's win at Wembley ensured the Blues created history as they reached their fourth consecutive FA Cup final.

Reflecting on the win, Guardiola added: "Southampton were 19 [20] games unbeaten so I never thought that it would be easy. The energy that we had with Jeremy [Doku] and Savio, if they started they would not have this energy because Jeremy especially, when you play in three days, the risk to get injured is so massive and a lot of players deserved to play.

"The first half was not bad, we did not concede much in the second half. We played at the level against Burnley but we arrived in the 18-yard box and we were not clinical enough and we had to wait for a holding midfielder to score an outstanding goal.

"How many times did Southampton cross the halfway in the second half? One. And what a goal. Football is unpredictable but big credit for how they defend and the way they play."