Pep Guardiola praises Phil Foden for his performance in winning the UEFA Champions League, expert says Manchester City are ‘back to their best’

This is a marked improvement over the 2024-25 season, when Guardiola’s side finished third in the Premier League, having been kicked out of Europe at the knock-off play-off stage.

Hargreaves believes the 2022/23 Treble winner has turned a corner and is ready to take on challenges on all fronts.

“I think he (Guardiola) knows the team is getting back to its best,” Hargreaves told TNT Sports.

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“I think it helps to have players like[Gianluigi]Donnarumma in goal and[Erling]Haaland at the top of the pitch. But I feel like they’ve got some great little players.”

“(Rajan) Cherki, who came on as a substitute, also scored a great goal. He and Phil Foden will be great fun supporting Haaland.”

“I think he’s got a great team again. Last year we had a lot of injuries, we had Rodri… and the confidence went down.

“I think they’re slowly developing. They’re doing well in the Champions League, they’re second in the Premier League. They obviously got a big game (against Liverpool) on Sunday. If they win that, it’s all about the game.”

City won four consecutive league titles last season before finishing second to Arne Slott’s side.

The 2024/25 season total of 71 points is the lowest since 2015/16 when they scored 66 points.

This saw Guardiola replace manager Manuel Pellegrini and immediately build a trophy-winning machine, with the team winning 15 major honors since the Spaniard’s arrival.

Hargreaves believes they are creepily moving on rails.

“Arsenal are great but they haven’t done it,” the former England midfielder continued. “They haven’t won yet. They’re getting there, they’ll win eventually.

Cherki scores a ‘great goal’ to conclude Man City’s victory

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“But the last team you want going after you are the guys who have been there for a long time and have done it: the players and the manager.

“Arsenal, I think they are in a great position, but I think this City team will quietly go step by step.

“And with this team, if they can use what they have and get Rodri back into the team, it would be an attractive title race.”

“He’s already there” – Guardiola on Foden

Phil Foden was one of City’s stars in the win over Dortmund.

This means the midfielder is looking back on his best games after a tough 2024/25 season in which he doubled his goals tally this season and played a modest role.

“You can say he’s already there (at his best). He doesn’t need to get closer, he’s already there,” Guardiola said with a big smile in an interview with TNT Sports.

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“It’s true that we missed goals, he’s an unbelievable goal scorer.

“How many times did we see that from Phil? How many times did we see that effort, that generosity, especially in the final third. We miss that so much.

“I’m glad that a new player scored the goal and not Erling Haaland.”

City’s next challenge, with Liverpool arriving at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday, will be one of the toughest of the campaign so far.

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The defending champions sit third in the Premier League table, one point behind City.

So this game will be a mouth-watering matchup, but Guardiola continued: “[They]are our biggest rivals for the last nine or 10 years. It goes without saying how good they are, but we’re ready.”

“We have training tomorrow, we have to recover, take a day off and prepare as best as we can for the match.

“We talk a lot about how important this week was and we’re handling it well.

“We’re happy to play against them and our officials and fans know how much it means to us. Hopefully we can have a good game.”