Enzo Maresca said it is his job as Manchester City boss to help Phil Foden rediscover his best form after the England international ended his long goal drought. Foden had not scored for 10 months before netting in City’s 3-2 win over Ipswich last weekend and then scored a Champions League hat-trick in a 5-1 rout of AEK Athens on Tuesday.
The 26-year-old swept the board of personal awards for the Premier League’s best player in the 2023/24 season after a 27-goal campaign. But Foden, who has admitted struggling with mental health issues, has failed to hit top form for the past two seasons. “Since we started I sat down with Phil two or three times, especially at the beginning.
Just to show him, I don’t know if love is the right word to use, but just to show him how important he is,” said Maresca, who took charge of City in June. “I said many times that I know Phil from years ago so I know how for different reasons, the last few years it was not good enough.
“When you have more players like Phil available, you are a better team because again it’s a matter of improving players. If you improve the players, you improve the team.
“So for me, I think it’s my duty to try to help Phil to be again one of the best players in England.” Other than a 4-2 Champions League defeat to holders Paris Saint-Germain, Maresca has made a flawless start to the daunting task of succeeding Pep Guardiola at the Etihad Stadium. The Italian is the first manager ever to win his first seven Premier League games in charge of a new club.
However, City’s fine form has been overshadowed by the threat of severe sanctions against the club for