Manchester City kicked off their title defense of the FIFA Club World Cup in stellar fashion on Wednesday, defeating Moroccan giants Wydad AC 2-0 in Philadelphia.
Phil Foden was in focus for Manchester City with an opening goal – and with the former PFA Player of the Year hoping to return to North America this time next year to play a major role with England at the World Cup, there are plenty of eyes on his performances at this tournament.
The Cityzens won the previous edition in 2023 after thrashing Fluminense 4-0 in the final – which has since been rebranded as the FIFA Intercontinental Cup –and they validated their credentials as one of the main favorites to win the tournament.
As soon as the line-ups were announced, it became evident that City manager Pep Guardiola was not too worried about the threat that Wydad posed: rather than start his tried-and-tested veterans, he used the opening match as an opportunity to experiment with his new players.
Following a devastating spell that saw them win four straight Premier League titles and claim a first-ever Champions League title, City evidently took their foot off the gas this season. They failed to win a single major trophy for the first time in eight years, and they only barely managed to qualify for Europe's premier competition.
Desperate to inject quality into their team City spent a combined €218 million in their squad in the January window on five different players, whilst they have also splurged €130.7m on four different players this summer.
From those signings, Vítor Reis enjoyed a rare start in central defense, fellow January arrival Omar Marmoush got the chance to prove himself as a lone striker rather than pairing Erling Haaland, whilst summer signings Rayan Cherki and Tijjani Reijnders made their City debuts.
But whilst City's fresh faces impressed against the Moroccan powerhouse, there was no doubt about who the Superior Player of the Match would be: Phil Foden. The Englishman opened the scoring within two minutes with a well-timed finish, before teeing up Jeremy Doku before halftime with a superb corner kick and doubling City's lead.
All things considered, Foden completed 38 out of 41 passes, racked up two key passes, and created two big chances. He completed two out of five crosses, registered three shots on target (and one blocked shot), came out on top in one of two ground duels, and won a foul and made a clearance as well before making way for Rodri at the hour-mark.
Various reasons have been attributed to explain City's staggering drop-off in form over the past 12 months, between Rodri's injury, to fatigue and fixture congestion, to a failure to refresh the squad with younger signings. However, one major reason has undoubtedly been the decline of Phil Foden.
Long considered one of the best young talents in world football, Foden enjoyed a supersonic rise in 2023/24 by racking up 27 goals and 13 assists in 53 appearances, enough to see him win the PFA Players' Player of the Year, the FWA Footballer of the Year and the Premier League Player of the Year.
However, Foden struggled to build on this momentum and suffered a nosedive in form, racking up just 11 goals and 7 assists in 46 appearances. But whilst he acknowledged his decline, he rejected any notion that he was struggling to cope with the pressure of maintaining his reputation as one of the best footballers in Europe.
Speaking to FourFourTwo after the match, Foden stated: "I think playing for a club like Man City anyway, there's expectations to perform every game and win trophies. Since the age of 16/17, I've been used to that pressure. I just take it how it is."
"Obviously, last season was a bit rough for all of us, but it's about trying to go again this season with the new signings to help us and try to win trophies again."
City have brought in Reijnders and Cherki to fill the creative void left by Kevin De Bruyne following the Belgian playmaker's departure to Napoli. And if Foden can return to the scintillating heights we've grown accustomed to, they might just be able to seamlessly transition into the post-De Bruyne era at the Etihad.
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