The question about Phil Foden drew an answer that didn’t mention him by name. Perhaps that was apt. There have been fewer mentions of Foden than expected this season. Fewer sights of him, too. The reigning Footballer of the Year was limited to 14 minutes on Saturday. Not, Pep Guardiola said, by a lack of energy or confidence – “absolutely not” – or by injury. Just by managerial choice.
It wasn’t a one-off. Foden was on the bench when Manchester City visited Tottenham last month. He was, too, held in reserve when Real Madrid came to the Etihad Stadium. Under other circumstances, the demotion of the reigning Footballer of the Year, the generational talent, would have garnered more attention. But so many things have gone wrong at City this season, so many certainties upended, that at times it just seems one of many.
