Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has lavished praise on “top-class” Phil Foden for his outstanding form, but insisted the attacker can still improve.
Foden struck the only goal in Saturday’s 1-0 win at Bournemouth to move the Premier League champions to within one point of leaders Liverpool after 26 fixtures.
It was Foden’s 16th effort in all competitions this campaign, which equals his previous best tally from the 2020-21 season and made it six goal involvements during February after he hit a hat-trick at Brentford earlier this month.
“Forget about the goals. Of course they’re important, but do you know how he played? How he controls and accelerates. He has become already a top-class football player,” Guardiola explained.
“He was before a little boy, good actions. Now he has become already a world-class top player. So good. He can play everywhere, especially in the central positions, which is really, really good.
“In the middle, I think in the (Club) World Cup in Saudi Arabia, he play really good, he understand more the game. His work ethic and how he runs, everything. He has become a top, top class player.
“He’s young and can improve. Always I had the feeling that Phil always had the sense of goal.
“Always had this sense of he can score. I met him when he is 16-years-old, he train with us and a little bit like Cole Palmer, arrive there and always have the feeling they can score.
“Phil has this incredible ability, this incredible ability to do it.”
Foden’s latest decisive effort made it 15 wins from 17 matches for City who remain in the hunt to achieve another treble after last season’s Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League triumphs.
Next up for Guardiola’s side is a trip to Luton on Tuesday for an FA Cup fifth-round tie, which is the final fixture of a busy February where they have juggled three competitions.
City’s schedule shows no sign of easing though with league encounters to come against Manchester United, Liverpool and Arsenal in March.
Guardiola added: “We are tired, but we recover. We’ll sleep good, we’ll eat good and we will be ready for Luton. We want to go through. I know it’s very difficult but it is what it is.
“We played Champions League and all the teams have a long week in the Champions League because the schedule is there. (Then) we played against Brentford and Brentford is dentist. Going to the dentist without anaesthetic.
“Do you know why we played against Brentford (last week)? We played the World Cup in Saudi Arabia, two games.
View this post on Instagram“I see the schedule, (every) three days and after Tuesday to Sunday, then we have Champions League and then we have another one. United, then maybe I don’t know FA Cup or Brighton, then after Liverpool, Arsenal, Aston Villa. So, yeah still we are there.
“One point behind after being champions for everything. That is good. I don’t know what is going to happen with my players after they win everything, how they would react? Oh my god. Better than is possible. Impossible, impossible.
“Every year it’s tough, but I love that it is tough. Okay, we accept it. We accept the challenge, that’s for sure.
“We accept the challenge to be good. I know Arsenal and Liverpool, what a team they (both) are.
“And step by step, as much as we are there, we can arrive the last games being there and everything can happen.
“With these players, with this genetic personality and mentality, no matter what competition always they perform and give everything.”
Brazil to host 2027 Women's World Cup
Brazil have seen off competition from a joint bid by Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany to earn the right to host the 2027 Women's World Cup.
The United States and Mexico were thought to be favourites to host the next edition of FIFA's showpiece women's football tournament, but they withdrew their bid in April.
They signalled their intention to focus on a bid for the 2031 tournament, while a South African bid for the 2027 event was also withdrawn last November.
That left Brazil and the joint European bid as the only contenders, and on Friday, it was confirmed the 2027 tournament will be the first to be held in South America.
"Congratulations to Brazil," FIFA president Gianni Infantino said.
"We will have the best World Cup in Brazil. Many thanks as well to the BNG bid, who have been fantastic."
The decision was made at FIFA's annual congress in Bangkok, becoming the first Women's World Cup to be awarded via an open vote of member nations.
Brazil – the host nation for two men's World Cups in 1950 and 2014 – garnered 119 votes to their rivals' 78.
Brazil had launched a bid to hold the 2023 tournament, only to withdraw it due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Australia and New Zealand ultimately co-hosted, with Spain beating England in the final for their first world crown.
Tuchel confirms Bayern Munich exit after no deal reached to stay on
Thomas Tuchel has confirmed he will leave Bayern Munich at the end of the season after failing to reach an agreement with the club to stay on as coach after talks this week.
Tuchel took over last March and steered them to the Bundesliga title last season but Bayern will finish the current campaign without any silverware for the first time in more than a decade.
Bayern bosses had informed Tuchel in February he would not stay on for the last year of his contract and would leave at the end of the season.
But after several prospective successors, including Julian Nagelsmann, Ralf Rangnick and Xabi Alonso, decided to remain in their current jobs, Bayern turned to Tuchel to discuss the possibility of him staying on.
"This is the last press conference here. The February decision remains," Tuchel said on Friday.
"There were talks again with the club in the past week but we did not reach an agreement on a continued cooperation so we stick with the February decision.
"We did not agree but I won't go into individual points. That all happens behind closed doors."
The Bavarians, who travel to Hoffenheim on the last matchday of the season on Saturday, are battling to hold on to second place in the table and are two points ahead of Stuttgart.
They crashed out to third-tier Saarbrucken in the DFB-Pokal and were eliminated by Real Madrid in the Champions League semi-finals, ending the campaign without a trophy despite spending a league-record €100 million to sign striker Harry Kane.
"The decision for me to leave was taken in February so you can imagine that my head, after processing, was 1000% behind that decision," Tuchel said.
"There was the theoretical possibility of a 180 degree turn now and the initiative came from the club.
"The reasons why it did not happen, I don't know, are minimal. Maybe the reasons are not clear, also for the decision in February, but it is what it is."
Klopp: Premier League cannot continue with current version of VAR
Departing Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp would vote to remove VAR in its current guise from the Premier League, though he also believes officiating standards are a problem.
On Wednesday, it was revealed that Wolves – who have been on the wrong end of several contentious decisions this season – had tabled a motion to abolish VAR from the top flight.
The club listed several "negative consequences" brought on by the technology's introduction, including an impact on in-stadium atmospheres, diminished accountability of match officials and its role in furthering "completely nonsensical" allegations of corruption from fans.
The role of VAR is now set to be discussed at an annual shareholders' meeting on June 6, though Wolves' motion is thought unlikely to garner the 14 votes needed to pass.
Liverpool were on the wrong end of perhaps the most high-profile VAR error this season, when Darren England mistakenly cleared an incorrect offside call on a Luis Diaz goal against Tottenham.
Liverpool face Wolves in their final game under Klopp on Sunday, and the Reds boss believes they are right to say VAR is not working in its current guise.
"I don't think they're voting against VAR, I think they'll vote about how it gets used, because that's definitely not right. I understand that," Klopp said.
"In the way they do it, I would vote against it, because these people are not able to use it properly.
"I do not think VAR is the problem but the way we use it is the problem. You cannot change the people, it's clear. You need them. So yeah, I would vote for scrapping VAR."
Meanwhile, it was also announced on Friday that midfielder Thiago Alcantara will leave Liverpool when his contract expires in June, after four injury-hit years at Anfield.
Thiago has been limited to just 68 Premier League appearances throughout his time with the Reds, including one match this campaign.
"Before he even came to Liverpool I believed that if you really love football it would make a lot of sense if you watched Thiago Alcantara play," Klopp said of the Spaniard.
"Technically, he is so, so good, a talent who could play in any team in the world, and it was a privilege to have him with us."
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