"Mesmeric at times" - Rio Ferdinand heaps praise on Manchester City star after win over Atletico Madrid
Rio Ferdinand has hailed Manchester City's star player Phil Foden. The young Englishman was terrific once again last night in the first-leg of City's Champions League quarterfinal tie against Atletico Madrid.
The 21-year-old's assist for Kevin De Bruyne's goal turned out to be the only strike of the night.
Man City rides Kevin De Bruyne’s goal—and Phil Foden’s assist—to a narrow 1-0 home win over Atlético Madrid. There’s still work to do in the second leg of the #UCL quarterfinals in Madrid https://t.co/VAbY2Y6awT
Praising the Englishman's ability, Ferdinand told BT Sport (reported via CaughtOffside):
"When you have an artist like Phil Foden posing a different threat, it is difficult to adjust to during the game when you have planned for something different. Foden was mesmeric at times.
"Pep is planning two or three games ahead and probably already knows his team. If he was not thinking about playing Foden at the weekend, he might have changed that now."
Former Manchester City defender Joleon Lescott also joined in on the praise, saying:
"Phil Foden is associated with Man City and I know what it means for him to play for the club. If he continues at this rate, he goes down as the best English player of all time with two trophies a season.
"His mentality sets him apart. If you compare him with someone like Wayne Rooney, you can see players who are hurt when they don't win. He is obsessed, I love what I do but he needs to do it."
Foden has scored 11 goals and registered nine assists in 35 games for the Cityzens this season.
Manchester City seeking to win three trophies this season
Manchester City are entering the final leg of the season with the chance to win three trophies. They are leading the Premier League title race, with Liverpool only one point behind them.
They are set to face the Reds in the semifinals of the FA Cup as well on April 17.
In the Champions League, they now have a 1-0 lead against Atletico Madrid. Should they progress, they will take on either Chelsea or Real Madrid in the semifinals this season.
We go again! 😋
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#UCL
Liverpool are also in the Champions League in the other bracket. They could face either Bayern Munich or Villareal in the semifinals should they maintain their 3-1 lead against Benfica in the quarterfinals.