"Phil Foden is the best player in the Premier League"
, Pep Guardiola
's statement
occurred on March 3, exactly a month ago, and if at that time it generated debate, now time has proven the Catalan
Manchester coach right
City
. The 23-year-old left forward born in Stockport was the great figure in the 4-1 victory over
Aston Villa
that left the Citizens on the same line as Liverpool and one point behind the leader, Arsenal.
Foden scored a
hat-trick
with his magical left foot against the team led by the Basque Unai Emery, who greatly missed
Emiliano
Dibu
Martínez
. The Argentine National Team goalkeeper was left out of the duel at the Etihad Stadium at the last minute due to a viral illness. In his place was the Swede Robin Olsen who lived a true nightmare.
Guardola's move went well. The coach decided to rotate his players since on Tuesday they will play the first leg of the Champions League quarterfinals against Real Madrid. Then, Erling Haaland, Kevin De Bruyne and John Stones went to the substitute bench so that Julián Álvarez, Jack Grealish and Jeremy Doku, among others, could enjoy more minutes.
The former River forward from Córdoba had a discreet game and was overshadowed by the outstanding performance of his partner in attack. But the other high point of the local team was
the Spaniard Rodri
, who opened the account in the 11th minute with good definition in the area after connecting the center behind Doku first. Immediately, Aston Villa made it 1-1 after a good counterattack defined by
Jhon Jáder Durán
, the 20-year-old Colombian striker from Envigado who scored his sixth goal of the season.
Then Foden's goal show got underway. The first, from a free kick, to make it 2-1. A left-footed shot from the door of the area that had the complicity of the visiting team's players who made up the barrier and opened up, leaving Olsen unprotected. In the second half, the player wearing the 47 shirt defined with a precise touch that he hit the post and scored after an assist from Rodri.
And finally, Foden sealed the 4-1 and his hat-trick with a violent shot from outside the area that hit high, near the corner. Afterwards, Guardiola brought it out so that the entire stadium applauded him. City was able to increase the victory through Julián Álvarez, but the Córdoba player could not break Martínez's replacement.
"When you win games is when you become a world-class player. And he wins them
," Guardiola had said in March, after turning around the classic against Manchester United (3-1) with a double from Foden. The
Boy Wonder
did it again.
Arsenal beat Luton Town to lead
Mikel Arteta and Leandro Trossard celebrate the victory over Luton Town. (AP)
At the Emirates Stadium, Mikel Arteta's team won 2-0 with goals from the Norwegian Martin Odegaard, 24 minutes into the first half, and the Japanese Daiki Hashioka against his own goal, at 44. In this way , the Gunners have 68 points and are at the top of the Premier League with one point ahead of Liverpool - who host Sheffield United this Thursday - and Manchester City.