FIRST-CLASS FODEN ACES OXFORD EXAM
His slide across the Oxford turf in front of his own team’s fans did not seem entirely in keeping with a cup tie which Manchester City had wrapped up long since. But it showed how much a first senior goal meant to Phil Foden.
it will certainly be one for the collection in years to come: a sweet, diagonal, left-foot strike sent skimming across the grass into the far right-hand corner of the goal after the 18-year-old had taken a Raheem sterling pass; the slightest touch of swerve as it went on its way.
Taken with the assists Foden delivered for Gabriel Jesus and Riyad Mahrez, it was the best imaginable way to hammer on the first-team door, though there was more to it than that.
it is his balance and awareness of space which permits this young man, who had only 29 minutes of first-team football to his name, to leave his mark.
The game was less than five minutes old when three Oxford players approached to press him. He eased past them all.
some perspective is necessary. City’s opponents made minimal imposition on this game and there will be far tougher challenges than this. Foden needs them because David silva and Kevin De Bruyne, when back from injury, are the ones who stand between him and a regular start.
But his performance left Pep Guardiola last night holding out the notion thatt he and the England Underer 17 World Cup-winnerr might remain a part of the club together for a decade.
‘My dream is to stay 10 years and if Phil stays for 10 years he will be valuable,’ said Guardiola. ‘He is a guy who is soo strong. He is a little bit of a teenager and needsd tot grow. More than a year with us and he will get the rhythm and the pace we play. He has shown us he is special. That is why we don’t buy anyone in that attacking midfield position.’
Oxford manager Karl Robinson went considerably further, offering comparisons with Andres iniesta, no less. ‘They teach you never take the ball back down the line you receive it from,’ heh said. ‘ His orientation on a football pitch is genius. When you work with players, only a few training sessions can bring this out. There’s a nnaturalness about hihis game i’ve not seen for a long time. ‘ i remember seeing BarcelonaBl and seeing iniesta in those kinds of positions.’ Guardiola cautioned against such a comparison. ‘i am not going to say he is iniesta because that is going to put pressure on him,’ the Catalan said. ‘iniesta is one of the best players i have seen in my life and i will not put that pressure on him.’ Foden’s first-half contribution was relatively incidental, though he announced his presence with a moment of sublimity: a flat, 35-yard diagonal pass behind the Oxford defence which was seized by Brahim Diaz. His shot looped into the path of Jesus, who scored from close range.
Diaz had been running the game at that stage — busy, unpredictable, looking for possession.
Guardiola’s young Ukrainian left back Oleksandr Zinchenko also impressed, forcing Oxford goalkeeper Jonathan Mitchell to dive sharply to his right to save. silva was the orchestrator and archtechnician, though, and at the hub of all that City created.
Oxford’s threat came through former Liverpool midfielder Cameron Brannagan, snapping at the heels of John stones, who was in a holding midfield role. Brannagan was considered a talent at Liverpool and there was an expression sa, of interest from Barcelona, though Brendan Rodgers’ coaching staff felt he needed to show more personality on the ball and Jurgen Klopp let him go.
Robinson’s players found more energy after the break, with Ricky Holmes lively on the left. But Foden turned the screw. He could have put the game out of sight 20 minutes from time when Danilo’s low cross from the right reached him on the opposite side of the box, but cracked his first-time shot into the side-netting.
He barely flinched. Ten minutes later, he sent Mahrez away down the City right to score.
Then came that sweet strike and the slide before fans who chanted: ‘He’s one of our own’. The way he celebrated that first goal ‘was like