PEP SAYS SUPERKID FODEN CAN BE A STAR AS CITY WIN GROUP

IAN LADYMAN

PEP GUARDIOLA last night challenged Phil Foden to become a Manchester City great after he made his debut in their Champions League win against Feyenoord. The 17-year-old came on as a second-half substitute as Raheem Sterling’s late goal sealed top spot in Group F for City. ‘Phil knows the club is there to support him but it depends on him,’ said Guardiola. ‘He has to come and work every day.’ Sterling’s rebirth at Manchester City continues to gather pace and here his late strike took the headlines away from Foden. As City laboured towards what would have been a rather uneventful draw against the champions of Holland, it appeared that the only memory of note would be the debut of the 17-year-old. But with only two minutes to go, Sterling took a lovely pass from left-back Danilo to ease clear and lift the ball over goalkeeper Brad Jones. It was a lovely finish, Sterling’s 11th goal of the season and typical of the confident way he is currently playing his football. With Shakhtar Donetsk losing to Napoli, City would have finished top of Group G with a game to spare anyway. But Guardiola will cherish this victory nevertheless. It means that only twice this season have City failed to win and only once have they failed to score. These things matter. Sterling said: ‘It’s always good to score but it’s more important to win, even if it’s ugly sometimes. We were slow on the ball. They dug in deep and stayed in the game as long as possible.’ City were the better team all night, even though Guardiola rested players. Foden arrived for Yaya Toure with 15 minutes to go and it felt significant. Out with the old and in with the new. He did not look out of place and one can’t imagine it will be that long before we see him again. City did not work ex-Liverpool goalkeeper Jones until the 21st minute when Kevin De Bruyne set up Sergio Aguero for a shot that the Australian parried. Jones fisted clear a Sterling drive before the interval and, shortly after the break, Aguero set up De Bruyne only for the Belgian to drive the ball over the bar. This game may have meant very little but City were not playing in that manner and all they required was more calm in front of goal. Guardiola’s desire for victory was made clear just after the hour when he sent on Gabriel Jesus for De Bruyne, who picked up a booking that means he misses the final group game. Foden eventually arrived with 15 minutes left and the welcome was a raucous one. However, the biggest cheer was reserved for Sterling and his late matchwinner.