Pep Guardiola said Phil Foden is happiest when playing as a number 10 after another stand-out display in his side’s 2-0 Carabao Cup win at Huddersfield.
Foden has returned to somewhere near his best after last season’s struggles and he set City on their way with a neatly-taken first-half opener.
Savinho added City’s second to give the scoreline a truer reflection of their dominance, although they struggled to find the killer pass in the final third.
When asked if Foden was happiest in a more central role, Guardiola said: “Absolutely. Close to the box I think he plays in the pockets perfectly.
“When he plays a little bit free and close to the box, he can do something that is unique, we know that.
“When Phil plays in that position behind the strikers, he’s a real threat.
“We’ve seen already with Phil (these last) few games. When the team play better, when every player makes his potential… but it’s not just today.
“The game against Arsenal, (Manchester) United, Napoli, he was really good.”
Guardiola made nine changes following Sunday’s 1-1 Premier League draw at Arsenal, with only Foden and Nico O’Reilly retaining their places in the starting line-up.
Teenage forward Divine Mukasa, one of six homegrown players in City’s starting line-up, made his first senior appearance, with two others – Emile Heskey’s sons Reigan and Jaden Heskey – making their senior debuts.
Guardiola was delighted with his young players, saying: “Today, six players from the academy making the starting XI, two more came on, the Heskey brothers, I think their father and mother will be so proud of their kids. That’s really cool.”
The City boss also handed Kalvin Phillips his first appearance in a City shirt since December 2023 and said the midfielder became a father for the second time on Tuesday.
Guardiola added: “It was a good moment because yesterday he became a father (to) Harry Phillips. He came this morning from London and now he’s going back to London to his wife and the kids.
“Of course, he came back (to play) for a few minutes. We didn’t know whether he could. But the game was controlled.”
Huddersfield boss Lee Grant was proud of his side’s effort, especially for restricting City’s clear-cut chances.
Grant said: “Super proud of the group, the collective. I saw a group fighting really hard for each other.
“The amount of work and discipline to even come away with a 2-0 defeat is mammoth and not to be underestimated. I’m really proud of them.
“We can be really satisfied with limiting the real big moments in front of our goal.
“We’re under no illusions that they had lots of control and domination. They can really hide the ball from you.”
