Maresca: Foden Can Regain His Best Form Again

Manchester City’s midfielder Phil Foden just broke his long goal drought. Enzo Maresca, the City boss, said it is his job to help Foden get back to his best.

Foden had not scored in 10 months before he found the net in City’s 3-2 win against Ipswich last weekend. He then scored a hat-trick in a 5-1 victory over AEK Athens in the Champions League on Tuesday.

Foden, 26, won all the personal awards for the Premier League’s best player last season after scoring 27 goals. But he has struggled to reach that level for the last two seasons, partly due to mental health issues.

“I sat down with Phil two or three times, especially at the beginning,” Maresca said. “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.” Maresca took over as City manager in June.

“I know Phil from years ago, so I know how for different reasons the last few years it was not good enough,” he added. “When you have more players like Phil available, you are a better team. If you improve the players, you improve the team.”

Maresca sees it as his duty to help Foden become one of the best players in England again. He has made a strong start in his role, winning his first seven Premier League matches.

The only setback was a 4-2 Champions League loss to Paris Saint-Germain. But the club is facing serious issues too. They might face heavy sanctions for breaking Premier League financial rules.

A large points deduction could happen, putting relegation on the table unless City wins an appeal against a guilty verdict on over 100 charges.

Maresca said the players are still in good spirits despite the situation. “In any club, when you lose important players and the manager after 10 years, it always takes time to compete again,” he explained.

“But this organization changed many important players last summer and changed the manager after 10 years, and we are competing at the moment.”

City will face Aston Villa on Saturday, with Erling Haaland back in the squad. Haaland, who has scored 12 goals in nine games this season, missed the match against AEK Athens due to a foot injury from the Ipswich game.

Matheus Nunes, Mateo Kovacic, and Nico O’Reilly are still doubts due to injuries.