Guardiola praises Phil Foden after two-goal display against Burnley

Pep Guardiola was full of praise for Phil Foden after his Man of the Match performance against Burnley on Monday evening.

The young midfielder scored a goal in each half to help City romp to a 5-0 win at the Etihad. Riyad Mahrez and David Silva were also on the scoresheet.

In his post-match interview Foden claimed that was his best game in a City shirt so far, and Guardiola was in no mood to argue with him.

Speaking to Sky Sports, Guardiola said: “I’m not going to disagree with Phil, but I remember some games in the cup when he played quite similar.

“I’m happy for him and if he feels that’s his best performance, perfect.

“I’ve said many times, when Phil has played he’s never played bad. Especially with his behaviour and attitude.

“He loves to play football. You see it on Twitter and Instagram, when he has a day off he’s with his friends with a ball.

“He loves it, when he goes on the pitch before a training session the first thing he does is take a ball and start to pass.

“He loves to play football and I think every time he has played with us since he was promoted to be with us he was at a high level.

“We cannot forget he is 20-years-old, he has to improve, but he will be an important player for the next decade at this club.

“The minutes he has, he deserves them, every minute he plays. And not just for the two goals, for everything, he fights, he plays and he’s a joy to watch.”

READY MADE REPLACEMENT

Guardiola also seemed to confirm that Foden will be given the opportunity to replace David Silva next season.

The Spaniard will leave the Citizens at the end of the current campaign and it was unclear whether City would look to recruit a new face or promote from within.

But when asked whether Foden was the man to replace Silva, Guardiola revealed the club have always been convinced that the Stockport-born star is capable of stepping up.

“When David said ‘okay, it’s my last year’, we spoke with Txiki [Begiristain], with the board and everyone said ‘okay, in this position we have Phil’.

“We don’t have to invest any pounds or in any new players when we have Phil.”