Phil Foden scored two goals to help Manchester City secure an impressive 4-1 victory over Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League.
Erling Haaland’s superb form was the talk in the build-up to facing his former side, but it was Foden who grabbed the headlines ahead of Tuchel unveiling his next England squad on Friday, as City surged into the Champions League’s top eight.
The 25-year-old solidified his claim for an England recall by scoring two wonderful goals on either side of another Haaland effort to put himself firmly in contention for next week’s final World Cup qualifiers against Serbia and Albania.
Guardiola described Foden as “back to his best” and ready to lead City’s push for trophies.
“Phil is back,” Guardiola said. “How many times have we seen Phil score these types of goals? We missed this a lot last season, but this season I think he is going to help us a lot.
“When Phil is happy with love and joy, you don’t have to say much. He’s a special player, but we need his goals, and hopefully today was the first step to do it.”
Haaland lashed home Jeremy Doku’s cross to take his tally for club and country this season to a staggering 27 goals from 17 appearances and his overall Champions League total to 54 from 52.
Dortmund rallied briefly, with Waldemar Anton converting Julian Ryerson’s set-piece cross to make it 3-1, but City finished well, with Rayan Cherki adding a late fourth to consign Dortmund to only their second defeat of the season.
Guardiola highlighted the game against Dortmund as crucial in the race for qualifying for the knockout stages, as they hope to avoid having to play an extra game in the playoff round by finishing in the top eight.
Last season, their competition ended in the playoff round at the hands of Real Madrid, but the win has boosted Guardiola’s team to 10 points after four games, putting them on track for an easy advance to the knockout stages.
Speaking after the match, Manchester City head coach Pep Guardiola told TNT Sports, “For the first 10 or 15 minutes, we didn’t know where we were. But after that, it was better.
“We had 10 bad minutes, and for 10 or 15 minutes after we conceded, it wasn’t good because they pushed; they put five, six, or seven players up front. But after going to five at the back, we could arrive better, and we finished the game with a good goal.
“Huge respect for these players, and we’re in a good position. If we can make another one or two victories, maybe we can get close to finishing in the first eight.”
