Enzo Maresca stated that, as Manchester City boss, it is his responsibility to help Phil Foden get back to his best form after the England international brought his long goal drought to an end.
Before scoring in City’s 3-2 victory over Ipswich last weekend, Foden had gone 10 months without a goal, and he then netted a Champions League hat-trick in Tuesday’s 5-1 thrashing of AEK Athens.
After a 27-goal campaign, the 26-year-old cleaned up the individual awards for the Premier League’s best player in the 2023/24 season.
However, Foden, who has admitted to struggling with mental health issues, has been unable to reach top form over the past two seasons.
“Since we started, I sat down with Phil two or three times, especially at the beginning. Just to show him, I don’t know if love is the right word to use, but just to show him how important he is,” said Maresca, who took charge of City in June.
“I said many times that I know Phil from years ago, so I know how for different reasons; the last few years it was not good enough.
“When you have more players like Phil available, you are a better team because again, it’s a matter of improving players. If you improve the players, you improve the team.
“So for me, I think it’s my duty to try to help Phil to be again one of the best players in England.”
Apart from a 4-2 loss to holders Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League, Maresca has made a perfect start to the formidable challenge of replacing Pep Guardiola at the Etihad Stadium.
The Italian is the first manager in history to win his first seven Premier League matches at a new club.
Yet City’s strong form has been eclipsed by the threat of harsh punishments against the club for widespread breaches of Premier League financial regulations.
A hefty points deduction, which could result in relegation, is probable unless City succeed in an appeal against a guilty verdict on more than 100 charges of misconduct.
Maresca stated that the atmosphere in the dressing room was still upbeat, even with the cloud looming over the club.
“In any club, when you lose important players, many important players, and you lose the manager after 10 years, it always takes time to compete again,” he said on Thursday.
“But this organization last summer changed many important players and changed the manager after 10 years, and we are competing at the moment.”
The city heads to Aston Villa on Saturday, with Erling Haaland’s return providing a boost.
The Norwegian, who has netted 12 goals in nine appearances this season, was absent for the AEK Athens game after sustaining a foot injury against Ipswich.
