Foden pulls the strings
CITY ACE SHINES ON RETURN
MANCHESTER CITY 6 WYCOMBE 1
PHIL FODEN lit up the Etihad with an electrifying first start back from injury as Manchester City eased past League One Wycombe.
The City star had played just 37 minutes this season after sustaining a foot injury playing for England in the Euros.
But he showed both feet remain as magical as ever and his career trajectory remains firmly on an upward curve with a command performance, including a stunning 25-yard strike.
Foden’s showstopper was City’s third and part of an emphatic response after Wycombe shocked the Etihad, and themselves, by taking the lead. It was a lead Gareth Ainsworth’s side held for just seven minutes, Kevin De Bruyne then Riyad Mahrez ensuring the natural order was restored.
The response was orchestrated and woven with brilliance by Foden, playing on the right middle of a forward bank of four.
Guardiola fielded a back line lacking experience, with all four aged 18 and making their debuts, and with another teenager, 17-yearold Romeo Lavia, in defensive midfield.
City’s defence did well initially against the muscular threat of Adebayo Akinfenwa and Brandon Hanlan. But pressure told in the 22nd minute as a corner led to a goalmouth scramble.
City goalkeeper
Zack Steffen and Joshua Wilson-Esbrand failed to clear danger at the near post and
Sullay Kaikai picked out Hanlan, below, who tapped in.
But in a 16-minute period at the end of the first half the hosts eased clear.
Foden beat two men in the centre circle and picked out De Bruyne for the first, City’s captain firing home from a tight angle.
A second arrived when Lavia calmly picked out Mahrez and the Algerian converted with his left foot.
The third was all Foden. He received the ball from a corner on the right and hammered an awayswinging bullet past David Stockdale. Wycombe deserve credit for staying with City in the second half but a fourth arrived in the 71st minute, Foden picking out Ferran Torres for a tap-in.
A fifth, and a second for Mahrez, followed with eight minutes left. Another of City’s promising youngsters, Cole Palmer, curled a wonderful finish past Stockdale just short of full-time to make it six. Yet with two assists and a goal there was no doubting the star was Foden.