Manchester City took their first step towards the semi-finals of the Champions League with a hard-fought 1-0 win over Atletico Madrid in the first leg of their quarter-final showdown at the Etihad Stadium on Tuesday evening.
Tasked with coming up against a low block and well-disciplined defence, which is renowned for making life difficult for teams in Europe, City got the job done thanks to a second-half winner from Kevin De Bruyne. The Belgian latched onto Phil Foden's clever pass and rifled the ball past Jan Oblak in the Atletico goal.
It was a fantastic finish from the former Chelsea man, who drilled the ball into the far corner, but it was Foden that deserved all of the credit. The City academy graduate, who had stepped off the bench just two minutes earlier to replace Riyad Mahrez, jinked his way past three players in red and white and cleverly slipped it through for City's chief tormenter.
It was a sublime little run and pass from the England international and it provided City with the moment of quality they needed to break down a stubborn defence that had frustrated Pep Guardiola's side for the opening 70 minutes. It was another moment of standout quality from the 21-year-old and only highlighted just how big a future he has ahead of him, both at the Etihad Stadium and on the international stage with England.
Unsurprisingly, everyone watching on TV at home immediately reached for their phones to wax lyrical about the assist Foden had produced, lauding him on Twitter. BT Sport host Gary Lineker also picked up his phone to hail the youngster.
Sharing a clip of City's goal, Lineker issued a one-word message, writing: "Beautiful." Beautiful it most certainly was.
It was a moment of magic from the Stockport-born attacking midfielder, taking his tally of assists in all competitions this season to nine. Furthermore, his ninth assist of the campaign means that he has now racked up 20 direct goal contributions this term.
At the time of stepping off the bench, Foden was also joined by Gabriel Jesus and Jack Grealish. For manager Guardiola, it was their introductions that changed the game in City's favour.
He said: "The guys were playing well but we know Gabriel and Phil have a special energy and Jack for the quality of keeping the ball. Only when we make a sub it is because we think it can be a bit better.
"It works sometimes but other times it doesn't."
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