Phil Foden ‘grumpy’ with Pep Guardiola as he provides Man City injury update – Footymercato.com

Pep Guardiola has confirmed Phil Foden is fine, having been substituted in the final stages of Manchester City’s thrilling 3-3 draw with Real Madrid.

Foden scored a stunning goal for City in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final on Tuesday night. But the England star was taken off with three minutes remaining, to be replaced by Julian Alvarez.

That was City’s sole change during the game, though Guardiola was forced to amend his initial starting line-up when Kevin de Bruyne was taken ill before the match. The Spaniard is already dealing with an injury crisis that has seen Kyle Walker and Nathan Ake ruled out.

Thankfully for Guardiola though, Foden’s injury issue does not appear to be serious. Instead, the 23-year-old was actually left upset with his manager for taking him off in the final stages.

“It’s a knock. He was grumpy with me when I made a sub, which means he is OK, but he made a fantasic goal,” Guardiola told TNT Sports when asked why he had made the change.

“In the last meeting in the hotel he [De Bruyne] was playing. He didn’t say anything to me. But he started to feel bad and bad. Vomiting when he arrived. He didn’t feel good to play.

“One of the secrets at the high level is adapting to the chaos. There’s no time to complain. Kyle [Walker] is not here, so he’s not here. Nathan [Ake] is not here, so he’s not here. Kevin cannot play, we play with 11. Hopefully he can be [back] next Wednesday.

HAVE YOUR SAY! Who was man of the match as Manchester City drew with Real Madrid? Comment below.

“It was a really good, entertaining game. Two teams that want to attack – in different ways but they want to attack. What I love is the way we played the second half when we were 2-1 down. We controlled the game really well.

“It’s Madrid. You can be 3-2 and the game is over – here it is never over. One week until our next game in Manchester – it will be sold out and they will help us score one goal. We will do the rest. And the team who is best will reach the semi-finals.”

Foden’s strike came with 24 minutes to go to put City back on level terms, with Josko Gvardiol and Federico Valverde later exchanging screamers to see the game end all square. The City star later confirmed he had only suffered a dead leg and was delighted to be on the scoresheet.

“For the fans, it must have been one of the best games you could have possibly watched, two great teams with possibly the best attackers in the world going head to head. It’s what the fans want to see, with plenty of goals as well,” Foden told TNT Sports.

“Sometimes you score a bit too early. They responded really well with two quick goals and we had to settle again. I thought we grew into the game, especially in the second half. I was really happy to make the most of one of my chances. It is a fantastic result to come here and get a draw.”

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