Manchester City midfielder Phil Foden was replaced on 58 minutes during the 2-1 victory over Southampton in the FA Cup semi-final
06:00, 28 Apr 2026
Phil Foden struggled as Manchester City beat Southampton 2-1 at Wembley Stadium(Image: Robin Jones/Getty Images)
Phil Foden cut a despondent figure at Saturday’s final whistle. You would be forgiven for thinking Manchester City had lost as he was consoled by Erling Haaland. However, it was an afternoon to forget for the England international who struggled to make an impact against a well drilled Southampton side.
Foden returned to the starting XI as Pep Guardiola rung the changes but it did not click for him. Less than 15 minutes into the second half, the City head coach had seen enough with the 25-year-old substituted as the Blues changed into a shape that eventually won them the game.
After the match, Guardiola could not be more certain that Foden would return to the player he once was. “Question of a little bit of time,” the manager said confidently but it was another matchday where the City favourite underwhelmed. Following his return to the starting side, MEN Sport has taken a look at what went wrong and why there are still reasons for hope.
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Congested contest
On paper, Foden lined up on the left flank but spent most of his time cutting into the middle. The problem for City was Southampton’s willingness to congest the centre of the pitch.
Foden was continuously showing for the ball but none of the defenders or midfielders were willing to risk a pass into him. On the odd occasion the City man did receive it, he was quickly pounced upon leading to possession being lost or Foden being forced into a simple pass.
His pass accuracy was one of the highest in the City team as he completed 21 out of 22. Unfortunately for him, a lot of those were easy passes, going backwards that did not help the Blues.
Dropping deep
With Foden starved of room to make an impact on the game, he was forced to drop deeper to touch the ball. Too many times we saw him come to the halfway line to collect the ball off Mateo Kovacic or Nico Gonzalez.
While there is nothing inherently wrong with that, because Southampton were happy to sit deep and soak up the pressure, Foden was often looking up and seeing a yellow wall in front of him. This led to him reverting to those simple short passes that did not drag City up the pitch.
It was all too slow and negative – two words we do not associate with a Foden at his best.
Erling Haaland embraces Phil Foden after a tough day at Wembley
Team selection error
In fairness to Foden, the team selection did not help him. Behind Omar Marmoush there was Rayan Cherki, Tijjani Reijnders and Foden.
All of them would prefer to be playing centrally and this meant they were getting in each other’s way. At some points you could have thrown a cloak over the trio and covered them.
City were crying out for width and made it far too easy for the Saints to defend. When City finally managed to cause Southampton problems, they were attacking their opponents’ full-backs and that was not happening while Foden was on the pitch.
Lacking confidence
It was unfortunate for Foden because you could see his confidence is severely lacking. In the opening 10 minutes, he was given one opportunity to run at the Saints defence as he found space on the right.
But instead of being positive, Foden uncharacteristically froze, turned back on himself and was eventually eased off the ball by Casper Jander. It was a remarkable passage of play, not least because of how rare it is to see Foden turn back on himself.
Foden attempted just two dribbles in his 58 minutes on the pitch. Meanwhile, Cherki had five and Jeremy Doku, who kickstarted the City fightback, had 14 in half an hour. Foden’s unwillingness to run with the ball was a sign of where his mindset currently is.
Reasons for hope
Guardiola was adamant that Foden will return to his best eventually and there were some signs that give him every reason to be hopeful. Firstly, his dedication is not in question. Out of possession he worked hard and when he lost the ball, he did power through to win it back.
He also kept showing for the ball. There were times when he did not receive it and he asked questions of his teammates, but Foden did not hide. He kept going until the end.
While Foden keeps doing that, Guardiola will keep the faith. But Saturday was a performance that summed up his 2026 so far and did little to justify him starting again, any time soon.
If he is to return to his best, Foden will have to do it off the bench.