Phil Foden seems to be in the process of adding another trademark goal to his repertoire: it turns out that the goal he scored against Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu last week was basically the same as one he had netted in training two days previously.
And it was the same finish in the Manchester derby in March when he cut inside onto his left foot and crashed an equaliser into the top corner.
The little touches before the strike are classic Foden. He has always been able to caress the ball, whether he is carrying it or receiving it, to enable him to get a shot off.
Against Madrid and in the training session in the build-up to the game, he cushioned the pass from John Stones so that it lay beautifully for him to hit.
Practice makes perfect! 💯
🌟 @PhilFoden 🌟 pic.twitter.com/siAiniYCeX
— Manchester City (@ManCity) April 12, 2024
“I just felt the sweet connection,” he said after the game at the Bernabeu. “It’s something I always practise in training, where you receive it on the edge of the box.”
Against United, he shifted it into space off a dribble, but both ended with the same shot into the top corner.
Top bins! 🗑️@PhilFoden ✨ pic.twitter.com/1jtRexboiB
— Manchester City (@ManCity) March 3, 2024
Foden has always had wonderful feet. He is probably the best in the world at receiving the ball on the half-turn and he has scored several goals over the years where he has to sort his feet out quickly, manoeuvring the ball into a shooting position and firing an early shot away.
Earlier this season, against RB Leipzig in the Champions League group stage, he took the ball on the half-turn inside the box — receiving it on his back foot, the right — before shifting it immediately onto his left to burst forward and follow it up with a finish that barely gave the goalkeeper time to react.
At Sevilla last season, he held onto it slightly longer, waiting for the right moment to shift it and hit it.
Those touches have been a key aspect of other goals scored over the years, even if they look very different from those close-quarters efforts.
“The goal against Liverpool was not even a full touch, it was like half a touch and hit,” Michael Owen said three years ago after Foden shifted the ball onto his left and lashed it in above Alisson from a tight angle.
There have been no carbon copies of that one, but the same traits are evident: a little touch to get the ball into the right area and an immediate shot to provide an element of surprise.
The other goal Foden has become known for, one that he started to score in 2020, also exploits this.
When football returned after the Covid-19 lockdown, he fired in a low effort from outside the box at the near post against Burnley. The touch was much like the one against Madrid, but the situation demanded a finish in a different corner.
A year later, as City progressed to the Champions League final, there was almost exactly the same goal against Borussia Dortmund, with the same touch to set himself and the same low finish at the near post.
He reprised the move again at Goodison Park in December, hanging back outside the area long enough to avoid being marked, then arriving at the right time to shift and shoot before anybody could properly react.
There is also a growing body of evidence that he is appreciating the right time to arrive in the area for a cutback or a loose ball, which will no doubt boost his goal tally in the coming years if City continue to exploit these situations. Ilkay Gundogan benefited from that approach in his final seasons at the club.
Against Tottenham in November, Foden ghosted into space inside the box, allowing him to control the ball and then sweep home.
In the closing stages of City’s last-16 game against Copenhagen in the Champions League in February, he found Kevin De Bruyne with a pass behind the defence and then continued his run to be in the right place to receive the return pass.
Against Nottingham Forest earlier this season, he arrived at exactly the right moment to finish first time after a classic City switch of play.
And in the Champions League final last season, he almost combined everything to score the perfect Foden goal. In a game of few spaces and even fewer chances, he span away from his man, burst into the space afforded to him by his own good work and Erling Haaland’s run, only for the finish to let him down.
In recent months, though, his composure in similar situations has improved, including his winner against United where he arrived in the box, took a touch, another smaller touch, and then a quick hit across Andre Onana.
So there are any number of different goals Foden scores, but it seems the most common feature in them is the little touch to set the ball where it needs to be.
The goal to complete his hat-trick against Aston Villa was similar in the setup to the ones against Madrid and United.
He just picked a different top corner — for the sake of variety.
(Top photo: Harry Langer/DeFodi Images via Getty Images)
