Guardiola Praises Foden For Brentford Hat-trick As Man City Overtake Arsenal

Manchester City coach Pep Guardiola has hailed Phil Foden following his match-winning hat-trick against Brentford on Monday night.

The victory was enough to take the defending champions two points behind Liverpool with a game in hand as it approached the vital part of the season.

Erling Haaland and Kevin De Bruyne started a match together for the first time since August 11 last year, but it was Foden who ran the show with his second Premier League hat-trick.

Foden scored his first Premier League hat-trick against Manchester United in October 2022.

Neil Maupay gave the hosts the lead against the run of play in the 21st minute with a clinical finish.

Brentford goalkeeper Mark Flekken denied the visitors the chance to equalise with a series of impressive saves. But he was unable to stop Foden from restoring parity on the stroke of halftime.

Ten minutes after the restart, Foden gave Manchester City the lead with a header from a pinpoint De Bruyne’s cross to make it 2-1.

He completed his hat-trick after combining with Erling Haaland for a close range finish with 10 minutes to go to

Guardiola has reserved special praises for Phil Foden for his clinical performance against Brentford.

Guardiola said: “We needed it [Foden’s performance] today,” Guardiola told a news conference. “I think Phil is playing … the most [influential] season for the team in terms of goals, assists. How he played simple, how he can be more aggressive. He has the pleasure to score the goals and the threat when he’s close to their box. Always he is there.

“So he’s an exceptional, exceptional player. He is [young] and already has more than 250 games for City, which shows the impact he has had since he arrived.”

“I don’t know his limits,” Guardiola said. “He will decide. For him, football is the most important thing of his life. Of course, aside from his family and kids, it is the most important thing.

“It depends on him, but he enjoys a lot. He loves to play football. When you see players like him playing in the street when you are a little boy, you have this sense of amateurism [in the way he plays].”

The win helped Manchester City to overtake Arsenal in the second position. They are currently two points adrift of tablet-toppers, Liverpool with an outstanding game.

A win over Everton on Saturday will see them overtake Liverpool to the top of the Premier League table.