If you want to play in the best team in the world, in addition to your excellent skills, shouldn't you also have a bit of a brave temper? In the second leg of this season's Champions League quarter-finals, a massive brawl broke out on the pitch, with Diego Simeone trying to get his players back from the chaos and young Manchester City midfielder Phil Foden grinning mischievously as the chaos he caused ravaged the pitch. Even with bandages around his head and ankle injuries, Atletico still tried everything to bring the dangerous man to his knees, but the City striker just kept bringing the victory back to him.
When Felipe brought him down for the last time and received a second yellow card, Foden rolled off the pitch and got up again, the home team lost all its coolness. He may have a young face, a careful style and maturity of Guardiola, but at heart he is a street fighter. At a time when an opponent is almost about to step on your nose, you still need to show your tough heart and fight for the team because it's part of the magic of your court. Atletico have also tried to beat him. In the first leg, they only rested for a few seconds before giving him room to pass the ball, and De Bruyne scored the only goal and won. Simeone was determined not to let him do it a second time, which was why he sent his imposing cronies to stop him in any way.
Felipe launched a reckless charge from behind as soon as he opened the scene, which required Foden to undergo a concussion test, after which his defensive partner Savage stepped in to try to intimidate him with physical contact and barrage of cannon-like profanity when he was without the ball. The 21-year-old keeps falling and then going into battle, and while it's not the kind of performance City wants, it's what City needs. De Bruyne said: "What we did was not good, but it did not have to be so. Sometimes you'll have a game like this, but in the end it's not a football game. We have to deal with this situation, and sometimes we're a little bit lucky. But sometimes that's the case. "It's a typically selfless performance of Foden, who sacrifices his body for the good of the team, just as he has sacrificed himself all season.
Guardiola didn't have a single full striker after Tottenham's Harry Kane lost summer transfer and he had to come up with a system to make the most of his midfielders. It's usually Foden who is pushed into the role, with his back to goal and two centre-backs clamping his legs, rather than in his more comfortable position as The No. 8 or Shadow Forward. His being so efficient shows his qualities, and his continued actions show his desire. As a boyhood Manchester City fan, Foden will do everything he can to live up to the shirt, though his future lies elsewhere on the pitch – his position could face a more threatening Challenge next season. But for now, he remains one of City's biggest attacking threats and will deal with Real Madrid the way he has done to his neighbours. In the Champions League match in the early hours of this morning, Foden scored a goal for the team to help Manchester City take a 4-3 lead.
Foden is in a way representative of the club's progress in Europe, with Guardiola saying they were inexperienced when he first joined. As the club grew into Champions League regulars in later stages, reaching the final four for the second consecutive season, so did the players. When Foden first came off the bench in a Champions League game against the Celtics, he was a 16-year-old underage player. A year later, he made his debut for the frigid Donetsk Miners, and last season he assisted Mahrez in a match against Paris Saint-Germain that propelled City to the final.
Guardiola said ahead of the match against Real Madrid: "I feel privileged to be here in the semi-finals as usual – Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Liverpool, they have played in the semi-finals many times in European history. We were there and we look forward to being there, so it's an honour to be here. Two games, but it won't be until a week later to know the result. "Manchester City no longer have an inferiority complex against the best teams in Europe. Foden has become a leader who is not afraid to face anyone.