Maresca Sat Down With Foden Again and Again as City Surge

Enzo Maresca has sat down with Phil Foden two or three times since he took charge of Manchester City, and he wanted the midfielder to hear one message: how important he is to the team.

Maresca made the point when speaking about Foden's form, and the timing is hard to ignore. Foden has scored four goals in his last two games for City. He is a player who has been through a rough patch, and his manager was clear that the conversations came early, especially at the start of the job.

Maresca and Foden already knew each other. Maresca worked as an assistant to Pep Guardiola at City before becoming a head coach, and Foden came through the same dressing room. Foden won the Professional Footballers' Association Players' Player of the Year award in 2023-24, the award voted for by his fellow professionals.

Foden had also been out of the side for a spell. He served a three-match suspension after a red card, a ban that meant he missed three games, before returning to the team. Earlier this month, Maresca publicly backed him to find his best form again. Maresca has also said he expected Foden to score in a game, and the forward did.

City have been in strong shape. They have won seven Premier League games in a row and sit three points clear at the top of the table, which is the league standings where the team with the most points leads. Their only competitive defeat under Maresca came against Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League, the club competition for Europe's top sides.

Erling Haaland is fit again. The Norwegian striker, who scores a lot of goals for City, sat on the bench for the Champions League win over AEK Athens. Matheus Nunes, Mateo Kovacic and Nico O'Reilly missed that match, and their availability for the next game is not yet clear.

Maresca also spoke warmly about Rayan Cherki, the French attacking player, whom he called one of the best players in Europe. Cherki is one of several creative options Maresca can call on as City try to keep their momentum.

Next up is a trip to Aston Villa on Saturday lunchtime. City will be looking to extend a perfect start to the Premier League under Maresca, and Foden's form will be one of the things everyone is watching. For a player who has been told in private how much he matters, a few goals in a row can be a powerful reply.