Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
Fantastic Foden fires City to impressive win
PHIL Foden scored a brilliant hat-trick as Manchester City kept the pressure on in the Premier League title race with a 4-1 win over Champions League-chasing Aston Villa.
A day after defending his star striker against criticism from Roy Keane, Pep Guardiola left Erling Haaland on the bench alongside Kevin de Bruyne, clearing the stage for Foden to grab the spotlight with an outstanding performance and his second hattrick of the campaign.
After Jhon Duran cancelled out Rodri’s opener, the 23-year-old put City back in front with a freekick late in the first half before
two excellent strikes settled it just after the hour mark, taking Foden to 21 City goals for the season.
Guardiola’s side remain third, a point behind leaders Arsenal and level with Liverpool – who host Sheffield United tonight – after their first win over a top-five side this term.
While little has changed in the table, this was a far more fluid display from the champions days after Arsenal ended their run of 57 consecutive home games with a goal.
The decision to leave out De Bruyne and Haaland was made with next week’s Champions League trip to Real Madrid looming, but neither have been at their best since coming back from injury in recent weeks.
Jack Grealish and Jeremy Doku came in to play on the wings and
Foden shifted inside, from where he would orchestrate City’s win.
Villa, already without the injured Ollie Watkins, had to replace goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez due to illness just before kick-off and stand-in Robin Olsen was soon picking the ball out of his net.
Foden fed Doku on the right and the Belgian cut it back for Rodri to sweep home his eighth goal of the season after 11 minutes.
City’s lead lasted only nine minutes before Villa drew level with a great counter-attack. Julian Alvarez lost the ball on the edge of the Villa box and the visitors swept forward before Duran played a quick one-two with Morgan Rogers and fired across Stefan Ortega’s goal into the far corner.
Villa’s Douglas Luiz lived dangerously late in the first half. Already booked for bringing
down Grealish on the edge of the area, he then fouled Foden in an almost identical spot in first-half stoppage time.
Darren England kept his cards in his pocket, but Villa were punished anyway as Foden found a gap in the wall to beat Olsen.
At the start of the second half, Olsen denied Bernardo Silva before Villa threatened on the break as Luiz drove forward and hit a shot that was tipped over by Ortega.
Foden would soon settle the match. In the 62nd minute Rodri rode Moussa Diaby’s challenge and rolled the ball inside for Foden to beat Olsen with a first-time shot into the bottom-right corner.
The killer fourth goal arrived in the 69th minute when Foden pounced on a scuffed clearance to lash a shot into the top-right corner.