The match between Ipswich Town and Man City in round 22 of the Premier League was decided in the first half when the defending champion scored 3 goals against the opponent. In those 3 goals, Phil Foden had a double, the remaining goal was scored by Mateo Kovacic. In the second half, Jeremy Doku, Erling Haaland and James McAtee respectively closed the score for the away team with the score of a tennis set.
Man City's victory over Ipswich is not surprising considering the stature of the two teams. However, Pep Guardiola still wants his players to score many more goals even though he has led 3-0 after 45 minutes. The Spanish coach needs a resounding victory instead of declaring that the king has returned.
After crushing West Ham 4-1 at home in round 20, Man City continued to destroy Salford City in the FA Cup with a score of 8-0 in round 3 of the FA Cup. While on the rise for their return, The Citizens were held to a 2-2 draw by Brentford at Gtech Community. As doubts gradually returned, the victory that destroyed Ipswich dismissed everything.
The victory over Ipswich will create a very good psychological momentum for Pep Guardiola and his team before they return to the UEFA Champions League rotation. In the middle of this week, Man City will have a very difficult away trip to PSG's Parc des Princes. Then in 5 weeks, they will face Chelsea, Arsenal, Newcastle and Liverpool in the domestic arena. This is the time to decide whether Man City will successfully defend their title, or even defend a position in the Top 4 or not.
Returning to the man who scored Man City's first two goals against Ipswich, Phil Foden, the English striker has gradually returned to his original form after a period of stagnation. Last season, Foden was voted the best player in the Premier League by British journalists.
Recently, his ups and downs in form combined with ill matches have caused Foden to seem to have completely disappeared from Man City's journey. Two goals against Ipswich have helped Foden score 5 goals in the last 3 matches. This was also the first time the 24-year-old star scored in 3 consecutive matches for Man City since October 2022.
With Doku's seemingly endless energy on the left wing, Foden had much more free legs to stir up the right wing and make many dangerous dribbles close to the opponent's center. Both of his goals came from smart runs into the central area, thereby perfectly ending Kevin De Bruyne's pass.
Looking at the big picture, Foden's 6 goals in the last 7 matches are a reminder of his importance in the Man City squad. Pep wanted to revive the team, so he was forced to give Foden an important position from now until the end of the season, as he has done for many years.
"He and I have talked to each other many times in the past month. Foden is now in a completely different physical condition and form from the beginning of the season. A few months ago, he had some personal problems. However, everyone has such a time and I completely sympathize with that.
The coaching staff and I are very happy to see Foden so energetic and playing well again. This is extremely important for Manchester City" - Pep Guardiola shared after the win over Ipswich.
