Enzo Maresca credits honest talks for Phil Foden’s City spark

Enzo Maresca says honest, face-to-face talks with Phil Foden have revived the midfielder’s Manchester City form. The City boss revealed he sat down with Foden two or three times “especially at the beginning”, stressing how important he is to the team.

The turnaround comes after Foden scored a hat-trick in Manchester City’s 5-1 Champions League win over AEK Athens on Tuesday. Maresca also pointed out that, despite a dip in his form over the last two years, Foden has now netted four goals in his past two games.

Villa Park is next

This Saturday, City head to Aston Villa looking to keep their strong Premier League start. They have won seven straight league matches and sit three points clear at the top. Maresca will also assess whether Matheus Nunes, Mateo Kovačić and Nico O’Reilly are available after missing the AEK game, while Erling Haaland was fit again after being unused off the bench in midweek.

Competition for attacking roles is tight, with Rayan Cherki named by Maresca as “one of the best players in Europe”. As The Guardian reports, Maresca’s message is that one performance isn’t enough—consistency across the season is what matters.