Phil Foden's 'smooth control and finish' held up as example for Borussia Dortmund star by coach Niko Kovac after wasteful display against Man City

After a disappointing 2024-25 campaign in which he struggled both physically and mentally, Foden has regained his form and confidence with consistent performances this season. The English winger already has four goals and three assists across all competitions this season and has also made a comeback in the England national team. The 25-year-old, who has not featured for the Three Lions since March, was recalled to the team by manager Thomas Tuchel alongside Real Madrid star Jude Bellingham. 

After starring against Dortmund in the Champions League, the City star told TNT Sports: "I'm loving it. I just need to play with a smile on my face, which I'm doing. Last year was tough, not just for myself but for everyone. There is a new togetherness this season and you can tell. Today Dortmund caused us some problems, they are a great team, but we stuck to the plan and broke them down with our talent up front. You learn a lot from it when you go through a tough patch. We have great captains in our team and we speak about how we can get back on track. And we've added great players to the squad as well and that's brought real hunger and togetherness. It was just about trying to be the team we used to be and this season we are seeing glimpses of that."

While speaking about Adeyemi's poor run of form this season, Kovac held up Foden as an example to inspire the attacker as he said: "I'd like to keep it general: City's passing quality was better than ours. With Phil Foden's goals, you could see how smoothly he controlled the ball and then finished. Karim had a few chances, but he didn't quite make it. He lacked precision and accuracy. But that's something we're working on. We need to find the net; then the chances are higher. But I'm pleased that he even created the opportunity."

He added: "Karim has his own way of putting it. We're working hard, we've had a lot of games and can't train as regularly as we'd like. Sometimes balls go in that shouldn't, and vice versa. Against City, we conceded three goals from the edge of the penalty area. Karim is 23 years old, he has a lot of potential and needs to improve a few things. But we're working on that."

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Kovac further heaped praise on Pep Guardiola's side in general as he told reporters: "We’re certainly a very good team in the Bundesliga and we reached the Champions League quarter-finals. But you have to say and acknowledge that this is a world-class team. We're not yet at that level, that has to be said. That's not a bad thing, because we have to be honest. We want to get there. To achieve that, we have to improve and work every day.

"We didn't create the chances we would have liked. Then we were simply too passive, conceding three goals from outside the penalty area. A deserved defeat. You could see the difference. City's passing was much cleaner than ours. Against teams like this, you have to defend better."

After humbling the German opponents in Europe, Guardiola's side will now shift focus on the Premier League as they next face reigning champions Liverpool at home on Sunday. City, who are training league leaders Arsenal by six points, need to win the game at Etihad Stadium to close their gap with the high-flying Gunners, while also extending their lead over the Reds.