Phil Foden concedes Man City 'cannot stay at the top forever' as England star admits struggles of current campaign have been biggest lessons of his career

Manchester City are set to lose the Premier League title for only the third time in nine seasons with Guardiola as their head coach, as the Citizens currently sit fourth on the table, 22 points off the leaders, Liverpool. Foden has now admitted that the eight-time league champions 'cannot stay at the top' of English football forever.

Speaking to TNT Sports' Sign Up: Into Football, Foden said: “I would put it [struggling this season] down to a number of things.

"Obviously we have had a lot of injuries, all of the stuff we have won in the past has been so demanding on the body. You cannot stay at the top forever, sometimes there are downs in life.

“Not much needs to change. Just believe in the manager, try keep players fit which is important because we have had a lot of injuries, team spirit, be motivated to try and go and do it again and create a great surrounding – I feel that is all we need to do and we should be back.”

The England international also opened up on his own struggles for form being the biggest lessons of his career so far. Foden added: “I feel like this season, even though we have not won [as much], I have learnt the most from it. It just shows how much you have to put in to win these trophies and the level that is set to win.

“It’s a learning curve for me this season and next season, hopefully, we can be back to our best and play the way that we used to.”

Manchester City still have the chance of not ending a season trophyless for the first time since 2016, as they are alive in the FA Cup and will face off against Nottingham Forest in the semi-final later this month.