Pep Guardiola reveals personal touch that led to Phil Foden revival for Manchester City this season | OneFootball

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has revealed the personal touch that the club had to give to Phil Foden to revive his concerning start to the ongoing season.

The England international came into the ongoing campaign off the back of a historic season for both himself and his City teammates, in light of a record-breaking fourth successive Premier League title success for the club.

Having largely been the standout performer for Manchester City last campaign, Foden was awarded the Premier League’s Player of the Season award, as well as the PFA Men’s Player of the Season after 19 goals and eight assists in 35 top-flight outings.

However, the ongoing season has struggled to follow in the same vein, missing nine games in total across all competitions due to various reasons including frustrations with injury and his manager favouring other members of the squad in similar roles.

Speaking ahead of Manchester City’s eventual 4-2 defeat to Paris Saint-Germain at the Parc des Princes on Wednesday night, Pep Guardiola revealed how he and the club had to remind Foden of just how much he is loved with the side in order to get the best out of him again.

“We tried to let Phil (Foden) feel how much we love him, it doesn’t matter the performance, we’re happy. He’s a privileged person, he has a lovely family, kids, wife, and people, fans, all of us, we are there,” Guardiola told reporters.

He continued, “It’s just the feeling, his mood, his face in the last weeks was always talking more, laughing more, being involved in the locker room. Before it was a little bit down, for the injuries he had, the situations, the last Euros, I don’t know…

“Sometimes you drop a little, and that will maybe make us realise what he needs to be consistent, learn from the best players in history, (Lionel) Messi and Cristiano (Ronaldo) in consistency every season, and maybe will be better in future.”

In Phil Foden’s last two Premier League outings for Manchester City, the Stockport-born playmaker has somewhat come back to the form that propelled him to the very forefront of the game last season.

Scoring twice in the eventual 2-2 draw with Brentford at the Gtech Community Stadium, the 24-year-old found himself on the scoresheet twice again in their following game, playing a crucial role in the 0-6 win over Ipswich Town at Portman Road.

An even bigger challenge presents itself for Foden and his teammates in the Premier League this weekend however, as Chelsea travel to the Etihad Stadium two points clear of Manchester City, who could leapfrog the London club into fourth with a win.