Phil Foden 'completely the opposite' comment shows Man City had perfect hero vs Leeds

Phil Foden was the Manchester City match winner against Leeds and after Pep Guardiola hailed his ability to get on the ball and make things happen.

Pep Guardiola's approach to snatching a dramatic late winner against Leeds United was based on Liverpool's ability to find similar moments under Jurgen Klopp. As the game got desperate, tactics went out the window, and Manchester City's aim was to get the ball into the box and pack it with their players.

It worked so often for Klopp and with his former No.2 Pep Lijnders now by Guardiola's side, it is no surprise that City managed to crank up the pressure to such an extent that the dam eventually burst. But it was also no surprise that the hero was Phil Foden, finding a finish into the bottom corner from the edge of the penalty area to seal a vital victory.

Foden opened the scoring inside 60 seconds and finished it in stoppage time. On an off day for Erling Haaland, City needed someone else to come to the party, and it was Foden who took the responsibility, but that is one of his many strengths, according to Guardiola.

"It's an incredible pleasure to be his manager because he is always open to improve and after having the mentality and composure to say 'I'm going to win the game'," he said. "He's never played behind the situation and players when everything is smooth and good, they play the best.

"But there are some players when the situation is uncomfortable, make a step back. Phil is completely the opposite. How many reactions I see Phil when arriving in the final third and he's alone in the box and doesn’t get that ball? It's frustrating. ‘Give me the ball because I want to get the ball. I want to score the goals’. That is the difference between the players here and another step and Phil has that.

"'If you give me the ball because I want to dribble, I want to score, I want to win the game' and this ambition and mentality arrived since he was a little boy. I’m happy Phil helped us today; he was the man to win the game."

Foden's double took him to six goals for the season in 17 games and he is back to his best after a disappointing 2024/25 campaign. His goals are also proving invaluable, with City being too reliant on Haaland so far.

The Norwegian has now failed to score in back-to-back Premier League games for the first time this season and remains stranded on 99 league goals, although he still has 13 games to get the goal he needs to break Alan Shearer's record for the fastest to a century.

Foden returned to the England set-up in November and Three Lions boss Thomas Tuchel said he saw the 25-year-old only playing in central areas. While Guardiola will still use him out wide at times, he agrees that his best position is to be close to the penalty area.

"I agree with Thomas. I like Phil behind the striker, close to the box," he said. "The guys who have this sense of goal have to be close to the goal. But sometimes, you know, it can be wide and be another player more inside, but I like Phil in central positions.

"But he can play as a winger. But for me as a winger, Savio and Jeremy and even Oscar have attributes, because the other three don't have the sense of goal that we lack a little bit.

"I had to bring people close to Erling, like Omar in this case. I like the players who arrive and have the feeling that they can score. The big teams score [with] many, many players. If just Erling is the guy who score the goals, we will struggle."

Foden also prefers to play at the heart of the team, it is his willingness to accept playing wide if it is best for the team that Guardiola also admires.

"This season has been the Phil we met for a long, long time ago," he said. "The impact what that guy arrived at 16 or 17 years at the training session and started to play was, oh my God, what a player. And every year was better and better and better.

"Two years ago, when we won the Premier League here, when we won West Ham in the last game, he was the best player of the league. Last season was the same as the team, you have the same season.

"But the growth of Phil every season is top for many, many, many reasons. It's a joy, it's a pleasure, it's a gift to have him. And as much as he's happy, he's alive and he have an incredible thing, you say ‘Phil, you have to play there’, in a position like maybe it's against his potential, like we say, playing the right, playing the left more wider. ‘I want to play right or left. I want to help the team. I want to run’."