Phil Foden was handed a rare Premier League start for Manchester City at the Emirates stadium this weekend much to the approval of the club’s supporters.
The 19-year-old has impressed almost every time he has featured and Sunday was no different – however, Pep Guardiola decided to substitute the player after just 55 minutes, replacing him with Bernardo Silva.
The change didn’t go down well with these City fans who believe the player should have been given more minutes.
Was Guardiola justified in his decision to withdraw Foden early?
Yes
No
This makes no sense. Foden was playing so well and we are comfortably winning against a top 6 team, he should’ve been allowed to finish the game. Also, if bernardo gets booked he misses Leicester. Don’t understand this change at all
— jm12017 (@jm170101) December 15, 2019
Disappointed with this One
— KeaneMwaniki? (@keanemwaniki1) December 15, 2019
Why?!? He’s doing so good ?
— Casey.J (@caseyjjb) December 15, 2019
So unnecessary from Pep. Kid was playing brilliantly and now we playing confused like a headless chicken
— Melvin James (@MelvinjJames) December 15, 2019
Let’s go phil! This is exactly what we need in the midfield instead of @21LVA. Phil got so much energy, so good at keeping the ball.
— The PTWP (@TheRealCENE) December 15, 2019
why not rodri or gundogan ?????
— hash (@hashiiira) December 15, 2019
Why Phil?
— Jan Targowski (@TargowskiJan) December 15, 2019
What do we think?
Understandably, the supporters are keen to see Foden given as many minutes as possible but it’s important to remember he played 90 minutes in Zagreb on Wednesday night. That will have no doubt influenced Guardiola’s decision and at just 19-years-old you can understand why his manager is wary of over-working the exciting young midfielder.
Prior to his substitution, Foden had played relatively well – according to WhoScored.com his performance earned him a rating of 7.3/10. The Cityzen’s take on Oxford United in the Carabao Cup quarter-final this coming Wednesday and perhaps with the game at the Emirates stadium already won, Guardiola was thinking ahead regarding the midweek fixture and that was another factor that contributed to Foden’s withdrawal.