On Wednesday night, Phil Foden stepped up for Manchester City. In recent weeks, it had looked like a one-man show at the English giants, with Erling Haaland carrying the lion’s share of the goal scoring. But in the Champions League against Borussia Dortmund, Foden let his feet do the talking once again.
On Wednesday night, Phil Foden stepped up for Manchester City. In a Champions League match that ended 4-1 for City against Borussia Dortmund, he let his feet do the talking again.
The Etihad crowd watched a game that initially seemed set to follow a familiar script, with Erling Haaland carrying most of the goal threat, but by the end it was Foden who had shaped the narrative with intelligence, timing, and cold precision in front of goal.
The statistics are telling. In the Premier League, Haaland has scored thirteen goals. Second on the top scorers list is Maxime Estève. Painfully, he does not play for City but for Burnley. The Frenchman, who scored two own goals against Manchester City, is the only player besides Haaland to have more than one goal. That imbalance had raised understandable concerns in England, since it is not ideal when so much responsibility rests on the shoulders of a single player. Against Dortmund, however, City found another reliable finisher in Foden, and the performance felt like a statement that the champions still have multiple match-winners ready to decide tight nights in Europe.
From the opening minutes, Foden operated in pockets that Dortmund struggled to close. He drifted between the lines, pulled fullbacks inside with his positioning, and combined quickly with City’s midfield to open angles that were not obvious at first glance. When he received the ball on the half-turn, he immediately faced forward, driving at the yellow wall with sharp changes of pace. His decision-making was crisp. When the space invited a shot, he took it early. When the lanes were crowded, he recycled possession at speed and moved again to be available for the next pass. That constant movement gradually stretched Dortmund’s defensive shape and created the rhythm City needed.
Haaland remained a constant distraction for the center backs, which benefited Foden. With the Norwegian occupying both central defenders, Foden repeatedly arrived at the edge of the box untracked, the classic late runner that City have used so well in the Guardiola era. After his assist against Bournemouth last weekend, he added two clinical finishes here, the kind of goals that rely more on timing, first touch, and placement rather than power. It was the same quality Guardiola highlighted afterward: the calm to pass the ball into the corner rather than lash at it. Those are high-value shots created by superior positioning and composure.
City’s control of the midfield amplified Foden’s influence. The double role of the holding midfielder, splitting the center backs in build-up and stepping forward to compress space after losses, allowed City to pin Dortmund back. With territory secured, Foden repeatedly received the ball facing goal, where he is most dangerous. He switched play when Dortmund collapsed on his side, then ghosted into the box for cutbacks when the ball returned. The fluency of those sequences is what distinguishes City at their best, and Foden was the hub around which much of it revolved.
Pep Guardiola did not hide his satisfaction afterward, pointing out that City have needed more goals from the supporting cast and that Foden is exactly the type of player who can supply them. He stressed that the team missed this specific kind of contribution at times last season and even in parts of this one, and that Foden’s belief in placing the ball rather than thumping it is a weapon City must exploit more often. The message was simple: City need his goals, and nights like this should become a habit.
There is also the national team angle. England could use additional end product from attacking midfield areas, and the message from Manchester was clear. Guardiola noted that Thomas Tuchel knows precisely what he needs and that no one doubts Foden’s quality or talent. The competition for places is intense, which means Foden must keep pushing his level. If the call comes, he must be ready to deliver the same cool finishing and tactical discipline he displayed here.
Foden echoed that confidence. He spoke about enjoying his football again, playing with a smile, and feeling a renewed sense of togetherness within the squad. He admitted that last season had its difficulties, for him and for others, but emphasized that this campaign already feels different, with a stronger collective spirit driving performances. That unity was visible in the way City defended transitions, pressed immediately after losing the ball, and celebrated each other’s actions as much as the goals themselves.
The English media responded in kind. Ratings across outlets reflected the sense that Foden was City’s standout performer, praised for coordinating play from deep positions and then arriving higher as the match wore on. He was credited for linking phases, punching passes through tight gaps, and choosing the right moments to break into the box. It was a performance that checked every box: technical quality, tactical intelligence, work rate without the ball, and end product.
Beyond the plaudits, the larger implication is significant for City’s season. With the schedule tightening and knockout football demanding ruthless efficiency, the margin for error shrinks. Opponents will plan to suffocate Haaland, double him in the box, and gamble that City cannot produce goals from elsewhere. Performances like this change the opposition’s calculation. If they collapse on the number nine, Foden can punish them. If they spread to track Foden’s ghosting runs, space opens for Haaland or the wide players to attack the channels. That is the multi-threaded threat City want to re-establish.
All of which is why this 4-1 mattered beyond the three points. It signaled that City are rediscovering a familiar pattern, one where the goals are shared and the pressure is distributed. Foden’s brace was not just a personal milestone. It looked like the beginning of a broader correction, a reminder that City’s dominance has always been built on many hands pulling in the same direction, not just on one extraordinary striker finishing moves. If this becomes the norm, City’s ceiling rises again, in Europe and at home.
