Phil Foden reveals Pep Guardiola’s tactical tweak which decided Manchester derby

Phil Foden has revealed that Pep Guardiola’s tactical decision to ask the England international to switch flanks with Bernardo Silva led to his second goal of the Manchester derby.

Foden was the hero for Man City on Sunday, scoring a brace to earn a vital win over Man Utd at the Etihad Stadium. The win sees City stay within touching distance of league leaders Liverpool heading into the business end of the season, sitting just one point adrift of the Reds after gameweek 27 of the 2023/24 campaign.

The England international’s two goals completed a second half comeback for City, with his stunning strike from 25-yards out cancelling out Marcus Rashford’s first half effort, before drilling the ball into the bottom corner to make it 2-1 late on.

While his first goal came after cutting in from the right flank – where he started the game – Foden’s second surprisingly came from the left-hand side of the penalty area.

Speaking to the press after the win, Foden admitted that Guardiola had told him to switch flanks with Bernardo Silva late in the game – a decision which led to the vital second goal:

“The manager said switch sides with Bernardo [Silva]”, said Foden. “I switched and not long after I managed to score the second goal.

“The manager knows best and I listened to him and it paid off in the end.”

The Stockport-born wide midfielder also took the time to express how much scoring a brace in the Manchester derby meant to him, revealing:

“I understand what it means for the fans in the derby at the Etihad. It means everything. To score as well is even better but it was about the win today.

“That’s my aim. To turn up in the big games, that’s what I want to do and I think this season I’m proving that by putting performances like that in. So yeah I’ll keep working hard.”