Phil Foden’s brilliant double in Manchester City’s dominant 4-1 victory over Borussia Dortmund on Wednesday was not just a statement for his club but may well have been a timely reminder to England manager Thomas Tuchel.
City boss Pep Guardiola praised the 25-year-old Foden, who struggled through a difficult campaign last season but now looks revitalised, and backed the midfielder, who has not played for England since March, for a return to Tuchel’s squad.
Tuchel will name his squad next week for World Cup qualifying games against Serbia and Albania. Asked whether Foden’s performance could boost his chances of a return to the England squad, Guardiola was diplomatic, but pointed.
“Thomas is so smart and wise, and knows exactly what national team needs,” he said.
“Thomas knows perfectly well how good Phil is. [But] the national team is different, it is a short time, create a team when you are not a team, because you are not there all together every day.
“But come on, Phil - there’s no person in this country and all around the world who doesn’t know his quality and ability. But England is so lucky to have many good players.
”That’s why Phil has to push himself to be better and better and better, because when he is called, he can say ‘Okay, I’m going to show how good I am’.”
Asked if Foden was on his way back to top form, Guardiola said: “He is already there.
“He does not need to get closer. It is true we have missed goals and he got two incredible goals. How many times have we seen that from Phil? The generosity with the effort but also with the quality in the final third. We missed it a lot.”
Foden said he was loving playing again.
“I just need to play with a smile on my face, which I’m doing,” he told TNT Sports. “Last year was tough, not just for myself but for everyone. There is a new togetherness this season and you can tell.
“You learn a lot from it when you go through a tough patch. We have great captains in our team and we speak about how we can get back on track.”
Guardiola said Foden’s standout performance on Wednesday was perfect timing with reigning Premier League champions Liverpool visiting on Sunday.
“Before the big, big match on Sunday, it is important to have him back.”
Erling Haaland also came back to haunt Borussia with a clinical finish against his former team as City’s big win saw them climb to fourth on the table.
Guardiola’s men have 10 points after four of the eight league-phase games, while Dortmund fell to 14th on seven points.
City were dominant from the outset and England international Foden opened the scoring in the 22nd minute when he collected a pass from Tijjani Reijnders and finished with a crisp left-footed strike from just outside the box and past goalkeeper Gregor Kobel.
Haaland, who has 27 goals in 17 games for club and country, doubled the lead seven minutes later, finishing coolly from the centre of the box after a blistering run and assist from Jeremy Doku. Foden completed his double in the 57th in almost identical fashion to his first, latching on to a pass from Reijnders before bending a curling shot just inside the far post.
Waldemar Anton pulled one back for the Bundesliga club from a free kick in the 72nd, but Rayan Cherki put the game well out of reach with a goal in injury time.
Also on Wednesday night, Alejandro Garnacho ensured Chelsea returned from Azerbaijan with a point as he came off the bench to equalise in their 2-2 draw away to Qarabag.
The former Manchester United forward fired a sweetly-struck left-foot effort into the net after 53 minutes of an enthralling contest that had slipped from Chelsea’s grasp.
Brazilian teenager Estevao put the visitors ahead with a neat finish in the 16th but after a slow start Qarabag came alive in the Tofiq Bahramov Republican Stadium.
Leandro Andrade steered home a rebound in the 29th to cancel out Chelsea’s lead and things went from bad to worse for the London side before half time as Marko Jankovic converted a penalty awarded for a handball by Jorrel Hato.
Garnacho levelled with Chelsea’s first attack of the second period and both sides came close to a winner as the action swung from end to end.
Newcastle United secured a third successive Champions League victory with Dan Burn and Joelinton both on target in a 2-0 win over injury-plagued Athletic Bilbao.
England defender Burn curled in a majestic header after 11 minutes and Joelinton doubled the Premier League club’s lead shortly after the restart with another header as Newcastle moved into the top eight in the table with nine points.
Despite a host of injuries that left them without eight first-team players including Spain international Nico Williams, Athletic did cause plenty of problems for Eddie Howe’s side.
Barcelona fought back three times to snatch a 3-3 draw at Club Brugge, with the visitors equalising for the final time late in the second half with an own goal scored by 20-year-old Belgium defender Joaquin Seys.
The result leaves Barcelona 11th in the standings on seven points from four matches while Club Brugge sit 22nd on four points, with both teams still in the hunt for qualification.
Reuters