Phil Foden has named a surprise Premier League title contender as he made a ‘pressure’ comment about Liverpool amid Manchester City in their worst-ever form under Pep Guardiola.
Phil Foden revealed he has not been surprised by Liverpool’s title challenge as he made a ‘pressure’ comment before naming a surprise contender.
The Manchester City star has endured a frustrating season with him yet to score and assisting just once in the Premier League so far this campaign. The 24-year-old was named the league’s Player of the Season for 2023/24 but his struggles have been compounded by Pep Guardiola’s side’s wretched form.
City are on a run of six games without a win, including five consecutive losses, ahead of their trip to Anfield on Sunday. Three Premier League defeats in succession leaves them eight points behind the table topping Reds.
Despite Arne Slot being in charge for a matter of months, Foden said that he is not surprised by Liverpool’s early-season position given the reduced pressure on their shoulders. “It’s not surprised me personally how good Liverpool are,” he told the PA news agency at a McDonald’s Fun Football event.
“This season they have gone under the radar in terms of a lot of people were talking about City and Arsenal fighting for the title and not so much talked about Liverpool, so I think that’s helped them in a way, they’ve had less pressure on their shoulders.
“They have done really well but I knew Liverpool were always going to be up there challenging for the title with the squad they have. There is still a long way to go and we know how quickly it can change.”
Foden then dropped another potential challenger into the mix, with Chelsea currently a point behind City. “There are teams that no-one is speaking about, like Chelsea. I feel like this season there are more teams look like they are challenging for the title. We will see what happens but it is tight at the top between us all. It’s going to be an exciting season.”
Despite City in the midst of their worst-ever form under Guardiola, victory on Sunday would move City five points behind the Reds. “It just shows that the blip we’ve had, every team can have. It shows football can be a crazy sport sometimes,” Foden added.
“I think we have showed in the past maybe we start a little slow but get it together in the second half of the season. Obviously that’s not the aim every year but we seem to have a little blip again right now, so football is about reacting and there is always a next game around the corner.
“We know it could have gone a lot different. It’s football and it happens. We are forever grateful for what we have won in the past, so this is the challenge now – every team wants to beat Man City, so it’s about facing the challenge and finding new ways to create things and score goals. You can’t dwell on the past, you have to look forward to the future.”
