No longer a test, Pep Guardiola let Foden fill the position of Kevin De Bruyne temporarily left. The results received were exactly what the Man City strategist predicted.

Last week, Pep Guardiola shared, Kevin De Bruyne is a player who cannot be replaced. He also emphasized, in Man City’s squad at the moment, no one can shoulder the role of the Belgian midfielder.

De Bruyne’s injury on the opening day of the Premier League is expected to keep this star out until the end of 2023. Although he knows the student is very important, but the situation is like that, Pep is forced to find another solution. Among the stars available in the first team, Phil Foden is the chosen one.

In the European Super Cup match in the middle of the week, Foden was also started from the beginning with the right midfielder position. During the 90 minutes against Sevilla, Foden played not really impressive but not so bad that Pep had to withdraw. In the competition with Newcastle, Pep let Julian Alvarez start, right next to Foden so these two young stars could support each other.

Alvarez shows the ability to link well with Erling Haaland but often loses contact with midfield. Meanwhile, Foden caught waves with Haaland quite poorly but managed the midline quite well, coordinating with the wings was not too bad. Therefore, Pep has found a common ground so that both Foden and Alvarez can work together. He let these two strikers take turns playing “number 10” right behind Haaland.

Pep said Man City are ready to sign a new midfielder (when asked about who will temporarily replace De Bruyne). However, the Spanish teacher still prioritizes the players in the training camp and those available in the first team.

If the match against Sevilla was still lackluster, in the duel with Newcastle, Foden had a much better match in the same new position. When Alvarez and Foden are behind Haaland, the demand for Kyle Walker will be much greater when he has to cover the right wing alone.

When Foden and Alvarez take turns entering the opponent’s box, Mateo Kovacic and Rodri will focus on defending and regulating, not advancing. They want the young teammates at the top to be free to roam when they know the backstop has been secured.

When Foden burst into the middle from the right, he didn’t have to look too closely to know that Alvarez was right next to him. Besides working together, they also proved to be a very good fulcrum for Haaland to have the ball in the most comfortable position. Just like that, the Newcastle defense was very tired when at the same time had to fight 3 direct attacks right in the penalty area.

Pep says there is no one at Man City who can replace De Bruyne, which is true. However, if two people ( Foden and Alvarez) are used to replace the Belgian midfielder’s duties, everything is fine. In other words, Pep has found a “double 10” to replace an outstanding “10” like De Bruyne.