After Phil Foden's introduction in the first leg of Manchester City's Champions League quarter-final battle with Atletico Madrid, it was no surprise he started the second leg and no surprise he was targeted by relentless Atleti challenges.
Maybe in the past, Foden would have reacted to the physical attention he received from the start at the Wanda Metropolitano. But he kept his head, bandaged after a challenge from Felipe in the first half, and had the last laugh as Atletico lost their cool and Felipe was sent off.
Foden has been credited — or blamed, depending on your allegiance — for sparking the late brawl on the pitch after he was fouled by Felipe and then shouted at by Stefan Savic. As Atletico were building up momentum, Foden's sneaky roll back onto the pitch might have been a match-winning moment for City. His grin shortly after next to an angry Diego Simeone sums up his new-found attitude that should make him undroppable in the semi-final vs Real Madrid.
ALSO READ: Koke claims Man City behaviour prompted 'madness' in Atletico Madrid game
"He's feeling it after the game," said John Stones of Foden, who incredibly was only awarded one free kick in the game, when Felipe barged through him and escaped without a booking.
But it was the late incident with the same player, who had finally got his yellow card by that point, as Foden chased down a lost cause to force Felipe into a sliding tackle to clear. As Foden jumped over the tackle, Felipe lost his head and kicked out at Foden as he landed.
Foden, who went down just off the pitch, cleverly rolled back onto the pitch to slow the game down. Whether it was that action — or just having the audacity to be kicked by Felipe — that angered Savic, the former City defender sparked a big brawl that effectively won the game for City.
Felipe was sent off for his kick, Savic somehow stayed on the pitch, but City were able to survive one more late scare and progress to the semi-finals.
"Foden plays the game, he knows what he’s doing rolling back on the pitch," said Joleon Lescott on BT Sport after the game.
"We need to commend Man City for the way they dealt with the situation. It was difficult," added Rio Ferdinand.
"Forget the crowd, those moments when you’re being antagonised, poking you, but they managed to come away without anyone being involved too much. Foden and Sterling. Foden is a young boy. It’s a good experience for them in some way. To be able to control your emotion."
Even Roma great Luca Toni, speaking on Amazon Prime, recognised Foden's roll back over the touchline.
"Foden was asking for trouble," he said. "He was off the pitch but then rolled back on [to waste time]. These are bad images, it would be better not to vent anger like that, but I know it’s not easy. They were all wrong, this aggressiveness brings to making mistakes sometimes."
That could be taken as criticism of Foden, but it can also be seen as clever tactics to play Atletico at their own game. They didn't like it when it wasn't them using 'dark arts'. He simply played Atletico's tactics better than they did.
As Atletico risked another red card when City pulled out some well-time tactical fouls in the dying stages, Simeone raced onto the pitch to calm his players, earning a booking of his own for entering the playing surface. The image of Foden taking a sip of water with a giant grin on his face won't have done anything to calm Atletico down, but it did show how much Foden was relishing the contest.
He'd got in the heads of Atletico, who had attempted to get into his and put him off his game. Instead, he got a player sent off, got Simeone booked, and got City through to the last four.
It shows he has the temperament for the most difficult of games, if City didn't know it already. If there were any remaining doubts over his discipline, City will have been impressed to see him rise above the antagonism in Madrid.
As City look for matchwinners when they next return to the Spanish capital, Foden has just shown them he is ready to step up.
Sign up to our City newsletter so you never miss an update from the Etihad Stadium this season.
