Man City pair Fernandinho and Pep Guardiola react to Phil Foden performance vs Aston Villa

Phil Foden received plenty of praise from his captain and manager following an excellent display against Aston Villa.

City pulled 11 points clear of Manchester United and are within touching distance of their third Premier League title in four years after the 2-1 victory at Villa Park.

A chaotic week looked like it might have been about to take another twist after 20 seconds, however, when John McGinn put the home side into a shock lead.

The Blues weren’t disheartened though and it was no surprise when Foden drew his side level after twenty minutes, putting the finishing touch on a fine team move.

Rodri went on to score the winner and despite losing John Stones to a red card shortly before half-time City went onto claim the important victory, with Foden deservedly earning the man of the match award.

Video Loading

Video Unavailable

Click to play Tap to play

The video will auto-play soon8Cancel

Play now

“I know him about five years now so since he was a little boy he’s been with us and shown his quality,” Fernandinho told Sky Sports. “No doubt about that.

“Of course he is really mature now and he is choosing better actions and today he scored and in another game he was awesome as well.

“I’m so pleased and happy for him because he’s a nice guy, a nice boy and he deserves the best in this life.”

Pep Guardiola was also quick to compliment Foden and pointed out how he is having much more of an impact on games.

“He’s growing. This guy is growing. He’s making steps every time he steps forward. His influence in our game is massive right now,” he said.

“He scored, provoked the three yellow cards, in the final third he created and ran a lot, so aggressive with and without the ball. He’s becoming a serious player.”

“There are guys that are 19, 20 years old that are unstoppables and when they are 29, 30 they are not. The players mark what they are on the pitch and that dictates who they are.

“Phil right now is becoming such an important player, against Dortmund he scored a goal, the second one, the cross for the penalty the final goal in the last minute against Dortmund at home. His influence in the final third is so important.  He can play wide, play inside. He’s so aggressive with the ball.”

Read More Related Articles Read More Related Articles