Foden dismantles Brentford in an exit that should strike fear among title rivals | first division

tThere was a chilling efficiency in the way Phil Foden dismantled Brentford. Instead of a repertoire of movies and tricks, all city ​​of manchester What an attacker had to do was think faster than his opponents, elude his markers with the brilliance of his movements without the ball and show zero uncertainty every time he was in front of goal.

The small waves were too much for Brentford drive. While some forwards stand still and make life easier for defenders, Foden never stops. He doesn't admire his actions and doesn't do anything to show off. Nothing is wasted and nothing is frivolous. Other young forwards should take note. Foden is always on the move, always looking for space, and Brentford didn't know how to stop him.

On another night, Ethan Pinnock's misguided attempt to clear Kevin De Bruyne's cross on the stroke of half-time would not have received such a devastating punishment. Foden, however, was alert. Was it luck that he was in the right place when Pinnock's header fell from the sky? Probably not. Most likely it was a sign of his intelligence. Foden was ready. No one was close to him when he fired City level at the end of the half, notable for an opportunistic route one goal from Neal Maupay and some heroic saves from Brentford goalkeeper Mark Flekken.

It was not an easy 45 minutes for the champions. At times they were in danger of sinking into the Maupayverse, a strange and disorienting world where a very annoying striker argues with everyone and spends an inordinate amount of time obsessing over the correct placement of opposing free kicks.

For a while nothing went right. Julian Álvarez, Erling Haaland, Josko Gvardiol and De Bruyne failed to beat Flekken and City were behind when the Brentford goalkeeper took a goal kick, at which point Ivan Toney claimed a kind of phantom assist, his mere presence was enough to contain Nathan Aké. and leave space for Maupay to run and slide a low shot past Ederson.

The city could have fallen apart at that time. They lost Brentford twice last season and they were almost 2-0 down when Sergio Reguilón sent a cross to the far post. Ederson reacted well to prevent the ball from going in. It was a crucial moment.

Foden soon expressed his opinion. There is a growing maturity in his game: more edge, more decisiveness, more determination to take games by the neck. He already has 15 goals for club and country this season. He got 16 last year.

The challenge is to continue pushing the limits. Foden has barely been a secondary player for City. He has contributed vital goals and played in many important matches. However, as City moved towards last season's treble, Foden was not a regular starter. He was on the bench when City faced Manchester United in the FA Cup final and Internazionale in the Champions League final, although appeared in the latter and had a positive influence after replacing the injured De Bruyne during the first half.

Foden will hope there has been a change. He was nominally posted on the left against Brentford, although in reality he was free to roam. There was no fixed point. Traditional City players, Jack Grealish, Oscar Bobb and Jérémy Doku, were on the bench. Guardiola opted for interchangeable creators: De Bruyne, Bernardo Silva, Álvarez and Foden moved behind Haaland and took turns moving outside.

It became overwhelming. Pinnock paid for his loss of concentration and City soon scored again after the break. De Bruyne did the damage again, crossing from the left and no one saw Foden's run. Completely alone in the box, with no follow-up to his run, he was able to place a header that skidded past Flekken.

There was no turning back for Brentford, although they fought hard and had a couple of chances to equalise. City were always capable of raising their level. The killer goal was a good example. Brentford must have thought they were safe. His form was good. They had players back. They were defending with discipline.

But Foden would give a masterclass in how to drill a low block. He parried a pass from Rodri and immediately lunged forward, the damage done even though the ball was elsewhere. This was how to make scoring goals look easy. Brentford could see what was happening but it was too late. Haaland played the pass, a lovely, weighted one, and Foden had all the time in the world to take it in his stride, prepare and fire at Flekken.

It was an unstoppable goal from a terrifying team. For Arsenal and Liverpool, the scary thing is that City are not dependent on Foden. If it weren't him, it would have been De Bruyne, Álvarez or Haaland. They have so many weapons, so many ways to win, and knowing that he is not under pressure to solve all the problems alone seems to have done wonders for Foden's development.