Kyle Walker is singing Phil Foden’s praises after his young colleague found his shooting boots in time to help Manchester City come from behind to defeat Everton on Tuesday night. Foden, a product of City’s academy, showcased his creative prowess by contributing significantly from the central midfield position. He notably scored a remarkable goal as City narrowed the gap to Premier League leaders Liverpool to just five points. Throughout this season, he has been deployed more frequently in an advanced attacking role behind the striker, amassing nine goals and six assists.Black Stars looking to shine bright in Cote d’IvoireWhile Foden has displayed moments of brilliance, including his recent contributions at the Club World Cup and in the match against Everton, he has also faced criticism from manager Pep Guardiola for his involvement in City squandering a two-goal lead against Crystal Palace earlier in the month. Walker’s remarks emphasize the need for Foden to maintain a higher level of consistency in his performances, acknowledging the player’s talent while encouraging him to deliver his best on a more regular basis.”Phil’s unbelievable. The talent that boy possesses is incredible, but with this manager and this team and the calibre of players we’ve got, Phil needs to do it week in and week out. I think this season he’s really come into his own and took the responsibility on, where we’re missing Kevin De Bruyne or Ilkay Gundogan or Riyad Mahrez, who chip in with a lot of goals. Phil has come up with that. You can see from his performance out there he’s really enjoying it, and hopefully, he keeps playing well.”##NAJAVA_MECA_7765236##Indeed, Foden has been a consistent standout player for City since making his breakthrough. His goal against Everton marked his 69th goal in 156 starts for the club, highlighting his significant goal-scoring contribution despite his relatively young age. Moreover, he is close to reaching a milestone of 50 assists for the club, needing just three more to achieve this mark. These stats demonstrate his impressive attacking prowess and his impactful role in creating goal-scoring opportunities for his teammates. As he continues to mature and gain more experience, it’s expected that his stats will only improve further over time.”You can see it in Phil’s performances, but I’m not patting him on the back. He needs to keep doing what he’s doing because I think the sky is the limit for him. Resting on a couple of good games will not put you in the same calibre as the best footballers in the world. He’s got the potential, he needs to make sure the drive is still there, he keeps concentrating, keeps putting in the performances that he is doing.”🚨l Kyle Walker on Phil Foden: “I think this season he’s really come into his own and took the responsibility on; where we’re missing Kevin or Gundo or Riyad, who chip in with a lot of goals, he’s come up with that.” pic.twitter.com/sr2qknNUyY— Jacky (@MCFC_Jacky) December 28, 2023 Walker sees the 3-1 victory over Everton, especially overcoming a goal deficit due to defensive errors, as a potential turning point in Manchester City’s quest to defend their title. He views this win as a significant momentum builder for the team as they look forward to their next game against Sheffield United on Saturday. The resilience City showed in bouncing back from setbacks in the Everton match likely instilled confidence within the squad and served as motivation moving forward in their title defence campaign.”It was good to go and finally tick the Club World Cup off last week’s list. It’s important now to draw a line under it, and it’s a big end to the season when we’re in the competition we want to fight for again. We’ve been playing well, but this game is about winning, and we weren’t doing that. Wolves away, they played a better game than us. Aston Villa away, they played a better game than us. In the other games, we’ve dropped points or lost games; I don’t feel they played a better game than us. Arsenal is like a chess game when you play them, but not the Liverpool and Tottenham games. I thought we played well and deserved more than a point out of those games. But that’s football, and in the Premier League, you can never let your guard down; you’ve got to keep going until the last minute.”ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE – MATCHDAY 19TuesdayNewcastle – Nott.Forest 1-3 (1-1)/Isak 24 pen – Wood 45+1, 53, 60/Bournemouth – Fulham 3-0 (1-0)/Kluivert 44, Solanke 62 pen, Sinisterra 90+3/Sheffield Utd – Luton 2-3 (0-1)/McBurnie 61, Ahmedhodzic 69 – Doughty 17, Robinson 77 og, Ben Slimane 81 og/Burnley – Liverpool 0-2 (0-1)/Darwin 6, Elliott 90/Man Utd – Aston Villa 3-2 (0-2)/Garnacho 60, 72, Hojlund 82 – McGinn 21, Dendoncker 26/WednesdayBrentford – Wolves 1-4 (1-3)/Wissa 16, Lemina 13, Hee-Chan 14, 28, Bellegarde 79/Chelsea – Crystal Palace 2-1 (1-1)/Mudryk 13, Madueke 89 pen – Olise 45+1/Everton – Manchester City 1-3 (1-0)/Harrison 29 – Foden 53, Alvarez 62 pen, Silva 86/Thursday22:30: (2.75) Brighton (3.60) Tottenham (2.60)23:15: (1.37) Arsenal (5.20) West Ham (10.0)***odds are subject to change***
